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INDIAN RACES 



NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA 



COMPRISING 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL ABORIGINAL RACES J 
A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR NATIONAL CUSTOMS, MYTHOLOGY, 
AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES ; THE HISTORY OF THE PR MOST POWER- 
FUL TRIBES, AND OF THEIR MOST CELEBRATED CHIEFS AND WARRIORS ; 
THEIR INTERCOURSE AND WARS WITH THE EUROPEAN SETTLERS; 
AND A GREAT VARIETY OF ANECDOTE AND DESCRIPTION, ILLUS- 
TRATIVE OF PERSONAL AND NATIONAL CHARACTER. 



CHAELES DE WOLF BROWN 



WITH 

NUMEROUS AND DIVERSIFIED COLORED ILL1 

ENTIBSLT NEW MANY OF WHICH ARE FROM ORIGgBlAi: T>1 

EXECUTED IN THE BEST STYLE OF THE ART, BY TWt\. RST ARTIS T S 1 

s 

NEW YOEKi\ 
H. E. & S. S. SCRANTON 
1 853. 




' • is 



1 



3 



ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1852, BY 

LUCIUS STEBBINS, 

IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF CONNECTICUT. 



FOI'NDRY OF S. ANDRUS AND SON, 
V> O Armstrong, Typographer. 



HARTFORD : 

W . S . WILLIAMS' 
PRESS. 



PREFACE. 



From the size of this volume, as compared with the variety and 
extent of the subjects under examination, it will be readily perceived 
that minuteness of detail has been impossible. 

In describing the adventures and proceedings of the pioneers in 
the settlement and civilization of the Western Continent, the interest- 
ing nature of the narrative may have led the author, in some instances, 
away from the immediate object of his attention, viz: the manners, 
peculiarities, and history of the aboriginal inhabitants. He trusts, how- 
ever, that where this may appear to be the case, it will generally be 
found to have resulted from the inseparable manner in which the his- 
tory of the natives and those who have supplanted them is interwoven. 

So far as has proved convenient or practicable, localities will be 
found to be in such a manner pointed out or referred to, that the reader 
who is ordinarily well acquainted with the geography of the country 
will seldom be at fault. Upon this point, the opening of the fifth 
book of "The True Travels, Adventures, and Observations of Cap- 
taine Iohn Smith," is worthy the attention of all historical writers. It 
runs thus: 

"Before we present you the matters of fact, it is fit to offer to 
your view the Stage whereon they were acted; for, as Geography with- 
out History seemeth a carkasse without motion, so, History without 
Geography wandereth as a Vagrant, without a certaine habitation." 

The works which have been carefully examined by the author in 
the prosecution of his design, and from which most of the facts em- 
bodied in this outline of history and description have been obtained, 
are the following: 



American Antiquities and Researches into 
the Origin and History of the Red Race ; 
by Alexander W. Bradford ; 

The Biography and History of the Indians 
of North America ; by Samuel G. Drake ; 



The Natural History of Man; by James 
Cowles Prichard ; 

Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, 
and Condition of the North American In- 
dians ; by George Catlin ; 



4 



PREFACE. 



The History, Condition, and Prospects of the 
Indian Tribes of the United States ; by 
Henry R. Schoolcraft, LL. D ; 

The United States' Exploring Expedition; 
by Commander Charles Wilkes ; 

Indian Biography ; by B. B. Thacher ; 

Mc Intosh's Book of the Indians ; 

Travels of Capt. Jonathan Carver through 
the Interior of North America, in 1776-7-8 ; 

Indian Wars of the United States ; by Wil- 
liam V. Moore ; 

The History of the Conquest of Mexico; 
from the Spanish of Don Antonio De Solis ; 

The Conquest of Mexico ; by Bernal Diaz 
del Castillo, Regidor of the city of Guate- 
mala, written in 1568 ; 
I Prescott's Conquest of Mexico ; 

Conquest of Mexico and Peru; Harper's 
series of Tales from American History ; 
I Robertson's History of America ; 
j The Invasion and Conquest of Florida, un- 
der Hernando de Soto, -written by a gen- 
tleman of the town of Elvas ; 

Irving's Conquest of Florida ; 

The Territory of Florida ; by John Lee Wil- 
liams; 

The True Travels, Adventures, and Observa- 
tions of Captaine Iohn Smith; from the 
London edition of 1629 ; 

The Life of Captain John Smith ; by W. G. 
Simms ; 

; The History of the Indians of Connecticut ; 
by John W. De Forrest ; 

! Baylie's Memoirs of Plymouth Colony ; 

| Barber's Historical Collections, in Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut; 

I The Rev. William Hubbard's Narrative of 
the Indian Wars in New England ; writ- 
ten in 1775 ; 
The History of Philip's War ; by Thomas 
Church, a son of Capt. Benjamin Church ; 

j New England's Memorial; by Nathaniel 

I Morton, published in 1669 ; 

| The Publications of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society, especially those relating to 
the Early Settlements in New England ; 
including, among other documents, the 
Relations of G. Mourt and E. Winslow 
concerning the Pilgrims at Plymouth ; 
Letters and Writings of Roger Williams ; 
Gookin's Historical Collections, &c, &c. 
Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois ; 



Stone's Life of Jos. Brant— Thayendanegea ; 
Memoirs of William Penn; by Thomas 
Clarkson ; 

Heckewelder's Narrative of the Mission of 

the United Brethren among the Delaware 

and Mohegan Indians ; 
The Life of William Henry Harrison, with a 

History of the Wars with the British and 

Indians on our North-western Frontiers ; 
The Adventures of Daniel Boone ; by the 

author of Uncle Philip's Conversations ; 
The History of the American Indians; by 

James Adair, for forty years a resident 

and trader among them ; 
Cobbett's Life of Andrew Jackson ; 
The Histoiy of Georgia; by Capt. Hugh 

Mc Call; 

The Adventures of Capt. Bonneville in the 
Far West, and among the Rocky Moun- 
tains ; by Washington Irving ; 

Cox's Adventures on the Columbia River ; 

BaiTow's Voyages of Discovery and Research 
within the Arctic Regions ; 

Back's Narrative of the Arctic Land Expe- 
dition ; 

Greenland, the Adjacent Seas, and the North- 
west Passage ; by Bernard O'Reilly ; 

Parry's Journal of a second voyage for the 
Discovery of a North-west Passage ; 

Mackenzie's Inland Expedition to the Arctic 
Ocean ; 

Purchas, his Pilgrimage ; 

The Modern Traveller; by Josiah Conder, 
Articles on South America ; 

Spanish America; by R. H. Bonnycastle ; 

Irving's Life of Columbus ; 

Indian Tribes of Guiana ; by Rev. W. H. 
Brett ; 

Alexander de Humboldt's Travels in South 

America ; 
Prescott's Conquest of Peru ; 
Travels in Peru ; by Dr. J. J. Von Tschudi, 

translated from the German by Thomasina 

Ross ; 

The Geographical, Natural, and Civil His- 
tory of Chili ; by Abbe don J. Ignatius 
Molina ; translated from the original Ital- 
ian by an American Gentleman ; 

John Mawe's Travels in the Interior of 
Brazil ; 

Head's Journey to the Pampas and the 
Andes. 



CONTENTS. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. page 
Chapter I. Origin of the North American Indians-Some of their General Customs 

and Peculiarities, „' ; ' t .' ! 

Chapter II. Religion of the Indians-Then Weapons and System of Warfare- ^ 

Their Lodgings, Dress, Ornaments, &c. 

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
Chapter I. United States' Territory, &c. • ^ 

Chapter II. Antiquities of Mexico, &c. • 
Chapter III. Antiquities of South America, ....«••■ 

THE ABORIGINES OE MEXICO. 
Chapter I. General Remarks-Expedition of Grijalva-Hernando Cortez, . . 54 
Chapter II. Battles with the Natives-Conciliatory Intercourse-Donna Manna, . 63 
Chapter III. Communications with the Mexican Emperor-The Zempdallans and 

. • Go 

Quiavistlans, 

Chapter IV The March to Tlascala-Occupation of the City-Great Massacre at 
Cholula-Entrance into the City of Mexico, and Interview with Montezuma- 
Description of the Temple, &c * * . 

Chapter V Seizure and Imprisonment of Montezuma-Execution of Qualpopoca 
and his Companions-Ominous Prospects-Expedition of Pamphilo de Narvaez- 
Success of Cortez against him-Return to Mexico-Outrage by Alvarado, and 
Consequent Troubles-Death of Montezuma-The "Jfoche Tr is tt "-Battle of 
Obtumba, and Arrival at Tlascala, 87 

Chapter VI. Preparations for the Attack on the City of Mexico— Building and Trans- 
portation of Brigantines-Siege laid to the City-Assault by the Spaniards, and their 
Repulse-Sacrifice of Prisoners-Capture of Gautimozin-Conquest of the Capital, 96 

Chapter VII. Rebuilding of the City-Extension of Spanish Powers-The March 
to Honduras— Execution of Gautimozin— Donna Marina— Modern Mexico, . . 106 

THE FLORIDA INDIANS. 
Chapter I. Early Expeditions of Spanish Adventurers— Ponce de Leon— L. Velas- 
quez de Ayllon— Pamphilo de Narvaez— Fernando de Soto : his Landing and Estab- 
lishment at Tampa-Story of John Ortiz, a Spanish Captive among the Indians, 110 
Chapter II. Progress Northward-Contests with the Natives— Vitachuco— Expedi- 
tion to Cutifachiqui— Departure for the West, 116 

Chapter III. From the Conquest by De Soto to the Year 1818-Missionary Opera- 
tions by the Spaniards-Moore's Invasion of Florida-Bowles-Wars of 1812- 

Defeat of the Seminoles by General Jackson, 122 

Chapter IV. Commencement of the late Florida War— Treaty of Moultrie Creek- 
Treaty of Payne's Landing— Osceola-Destruction of Dade's Command-Battle of 
the Ouithlacoochie-Conference with Indian Chiefs by General Gaines, . . .126 
Chapter V. Condition of East Florida-Gen. Scott's Campaign-Garrison besieged 
on the Ouithlacoochie-Occurrences during the Summer of 1836- Arrival of Creek 
Allies-Colonel Lane's Expedition from Tampa-Battle of the Wahoo Swamp- 
General Jessup appointed to the command in Florida, 134 



6 



CONTENTS. 



PAGB 



Chapter VI. Pursuit of the Seminoles Southward-Encounter on the Hatchee Lus- 
tee— Conference and Truce with the Indians— Renewal of the Treaty of Payne's 
Landing— Neglect on the part of the Indians to comply with its Provisions-Cap- 
ture, Surrender, and Treacherous Seizure of various Chiefs— Death of Osceola— 
Colonel Taylor's Campaign, 140 

Chapter VII. Various Minor Engagements— Surrender of Large Numbers of In- 
dians-Continuance of Depredations-Blood-hounds from Cuba-Attack upon a 
Company of Actors- Seminole Chiefs brought back from the West to report their 
Condition to their Countrymen— Colonel Harney's Expedition to the Everglades- 
End of the War— Indians shipped West— Numbers still remaining in Florida, . 145 

THE INDIANS OP VIRGINIA. 

Chapter I. Expedition of Amidas and Barlow— Of Sir Richard Grenvffle— Of 
Bartholomew Gosnoll, with Captain Smith-Settlement at Jamestown- Visit to 
Powhatan-Improvidence and Difficulties of the Colonists-Exploration of the 
Chickahominy— Smith taken Prisoner— His Treatment by the Indians, . . .151 

Chapter II. Court of Powhatan-Smith's Preservation by Pocahontas-Supplies 
by the Indians-Newport's Arrival-Smith's Expeditions up the Chesapeake, . 160 

Chapter III. Coronation of Powhatan-Smith's Visit to Werowocomoco for Sup- 
plies—Treachery of Powhatan-Smith a second time Preserved by Pocahontas— 
Visit to Pamunky— Fight with the King of Paspahegh— Ascendancy of the English, 171 

Chapter IV. Distress of the Colonies-Martin and West's Settlements- Arrival of 
Lord De la Warre— Retaliations upon the Natives— Seizure of Pocahontas : Her 
Marriage— Peace with the Indians— Pocahontas visits England: Her Death— Death 
of Powhatan— Pory's Settlement, ........ igj 

Chapter V. The Virginia Massacre of 1622 and of 1641 (or 1644)— Death ofOpe* 
chancanough, ^ 

Chapter VI. Smith's Account of the Numbers, Appearance and Habits of the Indians, 194 

NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 

Chapter I. Conduct of the Early Voyagers— Arrival of the May-Flower— Samoset— 
Tisquantum-Massasoit- Weston's Colony-Caunbitant's Conspiracy-Trade in Fire 
Arms-Thos. Morton— Death of Massasoit and Alexander, and Accession of Philip, 199 

Chapter II. The Narragansetts— The Pequots— Murder of Stone and Oldham— 
Endicott's Expedition— The Pequot War— Destruction of the Pequot Fort— The 
Tribe Dispersed and Subdued, 20 9 

Chapter III. Quarrel between the Narragansetts and Mohegans— Uncas and Mian- 
tonimo— The Mohegan Land Controversy— Subsequent Condition of the Pequots 
and Mohegans, 21g 

Chapter IV. The Indians furnished with Fire- Arms— Situation of the Colonists- 
Philip's Accession— His Treaties with the Whites— His True Plans— Emissaries 
sent to Sogkonate— Captain Benjamin Church— His Interview with Awoshonks— 
Murder of John Sassamon, 22g 

Chapter V. Attack on Swansey— Collection of Troops— Fight at Miles' Bridge* 
Philip driven from the Neck— Church at Punkatese— Destruction of BrookfieM, . 237 

Chapter VI. Philip moves Westward— Attacks on Hadley and Deerfield— Goffe'the* 
Regicide— Destruction of Lathrop's Command— Assaults on Springfield and Hatfield 
—Expedition against the Narragansetts : Outrageous Cruelties in their Reduction- 
Philip on the Hudson— Destruct'n of Lancaster, Medfield, Seekonk,Groton, Warwick, 
Marlborough, &c— Canonchet taken, and put to Death— Further Indian Ravages, ' 246 

Chapter VII. Philip's Return to Pokanoket-Major Talcott's Successes-Church 
Commissioned by the Court at Plymouth— His Interview with Awoshonks: with 
the Sogkonates at Sandwich— His Campaign against the Indians— Philip seen: his 
Wife and Son taken-Death of Weetamore, Queen of Pocasset— Death of Philip, . 256 



CONTENTS. • 

PAGE 

Chapter VIII. Pursuit of Annawon and His Party-Daring Procedure of Captain 
Chur^ 

Chapter ik ibe Eastern Indians-Thdr Friendly Disposition-Seizure of those 
^pUcated nPhUip's Conspiracy-French and Indian War in 1689-Attack on Co- 
Zco-Murder of Major Waldron-War of 1702-Church's Last Campaign-War ^ 

of 1722— Captain John Lovewell, , 

THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 
Chapter I. General Outlines of Character, fcc.-Impressions of the Inh ab itants of 
! New England respecting the Iroquois-Garangula : His Speech to M. de la Baxre, 280 
Chapter II Iroquois Tradition relative to their Former History-A Brief Ac 
coult of the Cerent tribes belonging to the Confederacy, and the manner of the, ^ 

Union— Incidents of Early Warfare, l ' / ' " 

ChaptekIII. Important Characters and Events of the Eighteenth Century-Brant- ^ 

CresaD's War, and History of Logan, • * * * * 

Chapter IV. History of Brant continued: Connexion of the Six Nation, with the ^ 

War of the American Revolution, 313 

Chapter V. Continuation of Revolutionary Incidents, . . . • • ■ 
Chapter VI. General Sullivan's Campaign against the Iroquoie-Subsequent War- ^ 

Cha^^C^ 72 Six Nation subsequent lo the Re^n-Conclu- 

8ion of Brant's History-Red-Jacket and Corn-Planter, ^ 

Chapter VIII. Present Condition of the Six Nations, 



340 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 
Chapter I. French influence over the Indians-British Occupation of the Western 

Posts-Pontiac, and his Plans for exterminating the English, 

Chapter II. Siege of Detroit-Battle of Bloody Bridge, 

THE D EL AW ARE S , SHAWANEES, 

AND OTHER TRIBES OF THE MIDDLE AND WESTERN STATES. 

Chapter I. The Delawares-William Penn-St. Tammany-The Moravians-The 
Shawanees-French and Indian War-Braddock's Defeat-Massacre of the Canes- ^ 
toga Indians— Daniel Boone, ' * ,* * 

Chapter II. Division of the Delawares- White-Eyes, and Pipe-Indian Confederacy 
of 1781-Attack on Bryant's Station, and Battle near the Blue Licks-General 
Clarke's Expedition-Disastrous Campaign of Harmar and St. Clair-Mihtary Opera- 
tions of General Wayne-Decisive Battle near the Maumee Rapids, and subsequent ^ 
Treaty of Peace, * * " , _,, , 

Chapter III. Condition of the Indians subsequent to the Peace-The Prophet Elsk- 
watawa-Tecumseh: His Plans and Intrigues-General Harrison's Expedition 
against the Prophet's town-Defeat of the Indians at Tippecanoe-War of 1812- 
Harrison'! Invasion of Canada-Battle of the Thames, and Death of Tecumseh, 368 
Chapter IV. Acquisition and Sale, by the United States, of Indian Land in Illinois 
-Black-Hawk-The Sacs removed west of the Mississippi-Return of Black-Hawk 
and his Followers-Defeat of Major Stillman-The Hostile Indians P^ued by ^At- 
kinson and Dodge-Their Defeat on the bank of the Mississippi-Black-Hawk s 
Surrender-He is taken to Washington-His Subsequent Career, . . . . d«o 

INDIANS OE THE SOUTHERN STATES. 
Chapter I. Early Location, Numbers, Character, &c, of the Catawbas ; of the Upper 
and Lower Cherokees; of the Muscogees or Creeks; of the Choctaws; of the 
Chickasaws-French War with the Natchez and Cnickasaws, 



8 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Chapter II. Colonization of Georgia-Early Intercourse with the Natives— Tomo- 
chichi— Intrigues of the Reverend Thomas Bosomworth— Cherokee War of 1759— 
Attakullakulla and Occonostota— Murder of Indian Hostages- Colonel Montgom- 
ery's Expedition— Destruction of the Eastern Cherokee Towns— Battle near Etchoe 
—Capitulation at Fort Loudon— Indian Treachery— Campaign of Colonel Grant, 
and Complete Reduction of the Cherokees, 399 

Chapter III. Captain Steuart's Agency— Disturbance in 1767— Visit of Tecumseh to 
the Southern Tribes— Weatherford— Sack of Fort Mimms— War of 1813— General 
Jackson's Campaign— Battles on the Tallusahatchee ; at Talladega, Autossee, &c— 
The Hallibees— Defeat of the Indians at Horse-Sboe Bend— End of the War, . . 402 

Chapter IV. The Removal of the Cherokees west of the Mississippi— Present Loca- 
tion and Condition of the other Tribes of the Southern States, .... 411 

NORTHERN RACES. 

Chapter I. The Esquimaux: their Manners and Personal Appearance— Accounts 
of Early Voyagers— Esquimaux Habitations, Food, &c— The Kaiak or Canoe- 
Sealing— The Rein-deer— Uses of the Dog— Patriarchal Government— Effects of 
Foreign Intercourse, 416 

Chapter II. The Esquimaux of Melville Peninsula— Their Stature and Costume—' 
Snow Huts and then Furniture— Implements for Hunting and Sealing— Mental 
Traits > . . 426 

Chapter HI. The Knisteneaux, Chippewas, &c . . , , , > 431 

VARIOUS NATIONS AND TRIBES 

BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 

Chapter I. The Sioux or Dahcotas, and other Tribes of the same Race: Classiflca- 
tion-The Mandans: Their Number, Situation, Villages, &c.-Their Cemeteries- 
Affectionate Remembrance of the Dead, ^ 

Chapter II. Personal Appearance and Peculiarities of the Mandans— Their Hospi- 
tality and Urbanity— Their Cleanliness of Person— Their Dress-Portraits of Man- 
dan Chiefs— Contrast between the Wild Tribes and those of the Frontier— Mandan 
Domestic Usages— Games and Dances— Training of the Youth— The Great Annual 
Religious Ceremony— The Mandans supposed to be of Welsh Descent— Annihila- 
tion of the Tribe by the Small-pox, '■ r 443 

Chapter III. The Sioux, continued— Their Mode of Life— Maternal Affection— Ex- 
posure of the Aged— The famous Quarry of Red Pipe-stone— Nature of this Material 
—Indian Superstitions respecting it— The Bison or Buffalo— Horses of the Indians- 
Various Modes of Hunting the Buffalo— Wasteful Destruction of the Herds, . 455 

Chapter IV. Indians of the Great Western Prairies— Their Summer and Winter 
Lodges— The Medicine-Bag— The Crows and Blackfeet— Races Hostile to the latter 
Tribe— Fortitude of a Blackfoot Warrior— The Crow Chief Arapooish and his Guest 
—Indian Conceptions of a Perfect Country— Story of Loretto and his Indian Wife- 
Adventures of Kosato, a Blackfoot Warrior, # 463 

Chapter V. Tribes on the Columbia and its Tributaries— The Nez-Perces— Their 
Religious Character— The Walla-wallas— The Chinooks— Mode of Flattening the 
Head— The Botoque— Canoee of the Tribes on the Lower Waters of the Columbia 
—Fishing— Houses of the Flat-heads, 473 

Chapter VI. The Shoshonees, or Snake Indians— The Shoshokoes, or Root-diggers— 
Extent of Country occupied by the Snakes— The Camanches : Their Horsemanship, 
Mode of Life, Dwellings, &c— The Pawnee Picts— The Nabajos and Moques, . 477 



CONTENTS. 



9 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, 

AND THE NORTHERN PROVINCES OE SOUTH AMERICA. FAGS 

Chapter I. Indians first seen by Columbus-Landing at Guanahani-Natives of 
Cuba-Embassy to the Grand Kabn '.-Discovery of Hayti, and Intercourse with 
the Natives-Guacanagari-Wreck of the Admiral's Vessel-Honesty and Hospi- 
tality of the Native Inhabitants-Trade for Gold-Building of the Fortress of La 
Navidad-Departure of the Nina-The Ciguayans-Disorders and Destruction of 
the Garrison at La Navidad-Fort of St. Thomas, ' ■/ 

Chapter II. Indians of Jamaica-Cruise along the Southern Coast of Cuba-Speech 
of an Indian Counsellor-Difficulties at the Fortress of St. Thomas-Its Siege by 
Caonabo-Efforte of Columbus to restore Order-Great Rising of the Indians of 
Hispaniola-Their Defeat-Tribute Imposed- Visit of Bartholomew to Xaraguay- 
Further Insurrection in the Vega-Bobadilla as Viceroy-Cruelties practised on the 
Indians-Las Casas-Incidents related by Punmas— Administration of Ovando- 
Expedition against Xaraguay— Reduction of Higuey, 49o 

Chapter III. The Caribs-Their Islands First Visited by Columbus-Origin and 
Location of the Race-Tokens of Cannibalism seen by the Spaniards— Cruise among 
the Islands— Demeanor of Prisoners taken-Return to Hispaniola— Destruction of 
the Fortress at that Island-Capture of Caonabo: His Death-Expulsion of the Na- 
tives from the Caribbee Islands, ' 

Chapter IV. Indians of Guiana and Venezuela-Classification-The Arawaks- 
First seen by Columbus-Entry into the Gulf of Paria-Hospitality of the Natives 
-Raleigh's Visit to the Orinoco-Early Wars of the Arawaks-Victoiy over the 
Caribs-Maroon Negroes-Present Condition of the Arawaks-Other Tribes of the 
Interior— General Description, 

THE ABORIGINES OE PERU. 
Chapter I. Physical Peculiarities of the Quichuas, Aymaras, Atacamas, and Chan- 
gos-Nature of the Country-Peruvian Works of Art, &c.-First Rumors of the 
Wealth of the 'Country— Expedition of Pascual de Andagoya— Francisco Pizarro: 
His First Voyage of Discovery- Almagro's Voyage-Contract of Pizarro, Almagro, 
and Luque— The Second Expedition— Pizarro and his Companions upon the Isle of 

Gorgona— Continuation of the Voyage— Return to Panama, 

Chapter II. Mythological Traditions-Topa Inca Yupanchi, and his Son Huayna 
Capac-The Peruvian Capital-Religious System-Government-Agrarian Law- 
Llamas-Public Records : The « Q^»-Agricultee-Marriages-Warlike Policy 
of the Incas— The Great Roads-Contentment of the Natives-Division of the Em- 

pire: Huascar and Atahuallpa— Contest for Supremacy, 

Chapter IH. Pizarro's Visit to Spain, and Application to the Emperor-His Four 
Brothers-Funds procured for a New Expedition to Peru-Vessels again fitted out 
at Panama-Landing of the Spaniards upon the Peruvian Coast-Plunder at Coaque 
-The March towards Tumbez-Battles on the Isle of Puna-Tumbez Deserted- 
Settlement of San Miguel-March into the Interior-Passage of the Andes-Mes- 
sages from Atahuallpa— Entry into Caxamalca, 

Chapter IV. First Interview with the Inca-Plans for his Capture— Entry of Ata- 
huallpa into Caxamalca-Address of the Chaplain- Attack by the Spaniards: 
Fearful Massacre of the Natives, and Seizure of the Inca-Prisoners and Plunder 
obtained-The Promised Ransom-Hernando Pizarro's Visit to Pachacamaca- 



53i 



543 



10 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Challcuchima— Messengers sent to Cuzco— Immense Treasure collected at Caxa- 

malca— Trial and Murder of Atahuallpa, 551 

Chapter V. March towards Cuzco— Opposition of the Natives— Death of Toparca, 
and Murder of Challcuchima— Manco Capac— Entry into the Capital— Booty ob- 
tained—Escape of Manco, and General Insurrection— Siege of Cuzco— Reverses of 
the Spaniards— Civil Wars— Further Hostilities of Manco Capac— Cruel Treatment 
of the Natives— Death of Manco Capac— Reforms under Pedro de la Gasca— Tupac 
Amaru— Insurrection of 1781— Present Condition of the Peruvian Indians, . . 563 

THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 
Chapter I. Their Location, Appearance, &c— Purchas' Description of Chili— Divi- 
sion of the Tribes— Peruvian Conquests— Agriculture, Arts, &c, among the Natives 
— Almagro's Invasion— Expedition of Pedro de Valdivia— Founding of St. Jago— 
Battles with the Mapochinians— Destruction of Spanish Miners— Peace with the 

Promaucians, ~j 

Chapter n. The Araucanians Proper— Character and Habits of the Tribe— Houses 
and Dress— Sectional Divisions and Government— System of Warfare— Courage 
and Military Skill— Religious Belief and Superstitions— Patriotism and Public 

Spirit of the Natives— Molina's Eulogium, . 579 

Chapter III. Army sent to Oppose the Progress of the Spaniards— Battle oil the 
Adalien— Lincoyan's Campaign— Valdivia's March Southward— Foundation of Val- 
divia, and Establishment of Forts in the Araucanian Territory— The Natives roused 
by Colocolo— Caupolican made Toqui— His Successes— Great Victory over the 
Spaniards— Death of Valdivia— Invasion of Arauco by Villagran— His Defeat- 
Destruction of Conception— Lautaro's Fatal Expedition Against Santiago, . . 585 
Chapter IV. Don Garcia de Mendoza ; His Establishment at Quiriquina— Fort of 
Mount Pinto attacked by Caupolican— Don Garcia's Invasion of Arauco ; His 
Cruelties-Expedition to Chiloe— Artful Management of the Cunches-Seizure and 
Cruel death of Caupolican— Subsequent Successes of the Spaniards— Retreat of the 
Natives to the Marshes of Lumaco— Indian Victory at Mount Mariguonu— General* 

Summary of Succeeding Hostilities, ^ 594 

Chapter V. Viceroyalty of Martin Loyola— Paillamachu— Renewal of the War- 
Loyola Slain— General Insurrection of the Natives— The Spaniards Driven from the 
Country South of the Bio-Bio— Bloody Campaigns under several successive Toquis 
—Peace of 1640— Ten Years' War— Subsequent Treaties and Hostilities— Present 
Position of the Araucanians, gQ2 



INDIAN TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 
Chapter I. Physical Characteristics— Pinzon's Discoveries— Landing of Pedro Al- 
varez Cabral upon the Brazilian Coast— Expedition under Vespucius— Cannibalism 
—Colonization of the Country, and Wars with the Natives— Fate of Juan de Solis, 
at the Estuary of La Plata— Settlement of Bahia de Todos Santos by Diogo Alvarez 
—The Jesuits— Particulars of the Cannibal Propensities of the Natives— The Boto- 



Chapter H. Success of the Portuguese Against the Natives— Their Contests with 
Settlers from other Countries of Europe— English Colony at Paraiba— Expulsion of 
Guarani Tribes from their Countiy on La Plata— Division of Brazilian Nations- 
Daily Routine of Indian Life in the Forests— Reflections, 

THE PAMPAS INDIANS 
Their Horsemanship— Their Mode of Life— Sir Francis Head's Description of the 
Race— Female Captives among the Indians-Trading Visits to European Settle- 



CONTENTS. 



11 



PAGE 

ments— Classification of Tribes— Change in their Condition by the Introduction of 
European Domestic Animals, ..... • 624 

THE PATAGONIANS. 
Early Exaggerated Reports concerning them— Race to which they belong— Nature 
of the Country— Terra del Fuego— General Description and Classification of the 
Inhabitants— Captain Fitzroy's Narrative— Physical Conformation of the Natives- 
Scantiness of their Clothing— Their Huts, Resources for Food, etc.— Fuegians car- 
ried to England by Fitzroy— Attempt at the Introduction of Agriculture on the 
Island— Pecherais described in Wilkes' Narrative of the United States' Exploring 
Expedition, * 629 

INDIAN POPULATION 
Of the United States and Territories, ■ ■ • • 485 



IMPORTANT ERAS AND DATES 
Of Interesting Events in Indian History, ....... 



■5T: 



/ 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



CHAPTER I. 

ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS—SOME OF THEIR 
GENERAL CUSTOMS AND PECULIARITIES. 

Ofy tfsp (puXXwv ysve}}, roirjSs xai av£pwv. 

"Like leaves on trees the race of man is found, 
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground; 
Another race the following spring supplies." — Biad. 

It were far easier to foretell the period when the extinc- 
tion of the Indian races must be cons u mmated, and to 
explain the causes that must sooner or later terminate their 
national existence, than to trace back their early history. 

Even a succinct account of the various theories, with 
the arguments upon which they are based, as to the prob- 
able sources whence the early inhabitants of the Western 
hemisphere derived their origin, would furnish matter for 
a volume : we shall therefore do little more than allude 
to the different hypotheses upon the subject, leaving the 
reader to follow up the inquiry, if his inclination so move 
him, by the examination of works especially devoted to 
the discussion of this vexed question. 

The want of a written language among the aborigines 
of America; the blindness of the system of hieroglyphics 
used by the more advanced nations of. the continent; and 
the wild discrepancies in their fanciful oral traditions leave 
us little hope of satisfactorily elucidating the mystery by 



14 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



any direct information obtained from the people them 
selves. Analogies in physical conformation, customs, archi- 
tecture, language, and religion, must form our principal clue 
in deciding the question of their origin. 

That America was first peopled by wanderers from the 
Old World seems to be a conclusion to which most of those 
who have treated on the subject have arrived. Exclusive 
of the supposed necessity for maintaining the truth of Scrip- 
tural history by deducing all the races of the globe from a 
common ancestry, abundant facilities for an intentional or 
casual migration have been pointed out by geographers. 

The numberless isles of the Pacific offer ready resting- 
places for adventurous or bewildered navigators, and might 
have been peopled successively by wanderers from South- 
eastern Asia. Some of the natives of that portion of the 
Eastern continent possess a skill in nautical affairs which 
would abundantly qualify them for voyages as hazardous 
as any to which they would be exposed in crossing the 
Pacific from island to island in their swift proas. The 
near approach of the two grand divisions of the globe at 
Behring's Straits presents still greater facilities for a pass- 
age from one to the other, when the waters are closed by 
ice, during the severe Northern winter, or when they lie 
open, affording a free passage for canoes. 

That the North-eastern portions of America were visited 
and probably peopled, at a very early date, by adventurers 
from the North of Europe seems to be fully established. 
Many wild and improbable legends indeed exist, touching 
these early voyages, and we can sympathise with the man- 
ner in which the old historian of Virginian colonization 
dismisses the subject: "For the stories of Arthur, Malgo, 
and Brandon, that say a thousand yeares agoe they were 
in the North of America, or the Fryer of Linn, that by 
his black Art went to the North Pole in the yeare 1360. 
In that I know them not. Let this suffice." 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 15 

Modern investigation lias brought to light abundant 
evidence of visits by the Northmen to Greenland and the 
neighboring American coast, at the close of the tenth 
and in the beginning of the eleventh centuries, and it is 
not improbable that intercourse had subsisted betw een the 
two countries at a much earlier period. The marked dif- 
ference between the Esquimaux Indians and all other 
tribes of the Western continent points plainly to a separate | 
ancestry. We shah speak more at large upon this subject 
when we come to treat of the natives of that vast and 
desolate region lying between the Canadas and the frozen 
seas of the North. 

Vague accounts of islands or continents at the West are 
found°in the works of many early writers. The Atlantis 
of Plato, the Hesperides, and a host of other uncertain 
fables have been tortured by ingenious antiquaries into 
proof of more extensive geographical knowledge than is 
generally attributed to the ancients. 

Some theorists have indefatigably followed up the idea 
that we are to search for the lost tribes of Israel among 
the red men of America, and have found or fancied resem- 
blances, otherwise unaccountable, between Indian and He- 
brew words, ceremonies, and superstitions. 

Others have exhibited equal ingenuity in carrying out 
a comparison between the Moors of Africa and the Amer- 
icans, claiming to establish, a near affinity in character and 
complexion between the two races. They suppose the 
Moorish immigrants to have arrived at the West India 
Islands, or the Eastern coast of South America, and thence 
to have spread over the whole continent. 

However variant, in some particulars, the different jj 
nations of America may appear, there are peculiarities of 
language which are noticeable throughout the continent, 
and° which would seem to prove that neither of these 
nations has subsisted in an entirely isolated condition. 



16 INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 

According to Humboldt; "In America, from the coun- 
; try of the Esquimaux to the banks of the Orinoko, and 
again, from these torrid banks to the frozen climate of the 
Straits of Magellan, mother tongues, entirely different with 
regard to their roots, have, if we may u^e the expression, 
the same physiognomy. Striking analogies of grammat- 
| ical construction have been recognised, not only in the 
| more perfect languages — as that of the Incas, the Aymara, i 
I the Guarani, the Mexican, and the Cora, but also in lan- | 
| guages extremely rude. Idioms, the roots of which do ! 
| not resemble each other more than the roots of the Scla- j 
j vonian and Biscayan, haye resemblances of internal me- j 
j chanism similar to those which are found in the Sanscrit, I 
j j the Persian, the Greek, and the German languages." 

Of the primary roots of the different Indian dialects, | 
1 1 it is said that there are four more prominent than the rest, ' 
I and which can be traced over nearly the whole continent, j 
| These are the Karalit or Esquimaux, the Iroquois, the i 

I Lenni Lenape, and that of the Cherokees, Choctaws, and 
I ! other tribes of the South. 

The great body of the American aborigines, notwith- 

I I standing the country over which they are distributed, have 
many features of physical conformation in common. The j 

! \ exceptions to this general truth, exhibited principally in ' 
I ; the persons of the Esquimaux, and in certain white tribes 
at the West, deserve a separate consideration : at present, 
our remarks will be confined to the red men, and particu- 

j larly to those of the present United States and territories. ' 

The appellation universally bestowed upon this people is 1 

in itself a strange misnomer, and would hardly have obtain- ' j 

! ed so generally, had not the error in which it originated : 

been one which early voyagers were slow to acknowledge, j 

The Americans have, indeed, usurped the name of those j 
for whom they were so long mistaken, and whom we are 

now reduced to distuinguish by the title of East Indians, j 

I : . j 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 17 

The general appearance of a North American Indian 
can be given in few words ; the resemblance between those 
of different tribes— with the exceptions to which we have 
referred— being fall as close as between different nations 
of either of the great families into which the hnman race 
has been arbitrarily divided. They are about of the aver- 
age height which man attains when his form is not cramped 
by premature or excessive labor, but their erect posture 
and slender figure give them the appearance of a tall race. 
Their limbs are well formed, but calculated rather for agility 
than strength, in which they rarely equal the more vigorous 
of European nations. They generally have small feet. 

The most distinguishing peculiarities of the race are, 
the reddish or copper colour of the skin; the prominence 
of the cheek-bone ; and the color and quality of the hair. 
This is not absolutely straight, but somewhat wavy, and 
has not inaptly been compared to the mane of the horse 
—less from its coarseness than from its glossy hue and the 
manner in which it hangs. Their eyes are universally 
dark. The women are rather short, with broader faces, 
. and a greater tendency to obesity than the men, but many 
of them possess a symmetrical figure, with an agreeable 
and attractive countenance. 

It was formerly quite a general impression that the 
Indians were destitute of beards. This error resulted 
from the almost universal custom prevalent among them 
of eradicating what they esteemed a deformity. Tweezers, 
made of wood or muscle-shells, served to pluck out the 
hairs as soon as they appeared ; and, after intercourse with 
the whites commenced, a coil of spiral wire was applied to 
the same use. It was esteemed greatly becoming among 
the men, to carry this operation still farther, and to lay 
bare the whole head, with the exception of a top-knot, 
or ridge like the comb of a cock, in which feathers or por- 
cupine quills were fantastically interwoven. 
2 



18 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Of the hideous custom of flattening the head, and the 
means by which it was accomplished, we shall speak 
when describing the tribes among whom it was practised. 

No nations on the Eastern continent approach so nearly to 
the American Indians, in bodily conformation, as do certain 
•tribes of Tartars. A similarity in habits of life, in dress, 
festivals, and games, is also observable between the two 
nations. This, combined with the proximity of their coun- 
tries, and the ease, with which a passage could be effected, 
would seem to afford a rational presumption as to the direct 
origin of no small portion of the red tribes of North Amer- 
ica. Who can undertake to decide, however, as to what 
admixture of races has here taken place, or how often 
fresh arrivals, from different portions of Eastern Asia, 
have given rise to new colonies, or destroyed by amal- 
gamation, the distinctive characteristics of the earlier peo- 
ple? Above all, can we account for the wonderful remains 
of antiquity described in another chapter, by referring 
them to the same races as were found inhabiting these 
wilds when the white man first ventured to explore them? 

The difficulty of the subject is sufficiently manifest from 
the contradictory conclusions drawn by laborious but dog- 
matic antiquaries ; and still more by the doubt and uncer- 
tainty in which more candid but equally diligent laborers 
in the same field have confessed their researches to have 
resulted. 

There have not been wanting those who have main- 
tained the theory that the Indians were indigenous to 
America. Some who have adopted this idea consider that 
it involves the doctrine of a separate creation, while others, 
that they might not discard the ordinarily received opin- 
ion that all mankind have sprung from a single pair, place 
the seat of paradise somewhere upon the Western Con- 
tinent, and consider the Eastern nations as descendants of 
emigrants from America. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



19 



However interesting these speculations may prove to 
the antiquary, they must appear simply wearisome to the 
reader who is not willing to give the subject a full inves- 
tigation. The two hemispheres remained sundered for so 
long a period, that the history of their former connection by 
intercourse of their respective inhabitants is now reduced 
to little more than speculation; and we will pass to mat- 
ters of which we can speak with certainty, and which 
appeal more closely to our sympathies, and attract our 
attention with more lively interest than such groping amid 
the dim relics of antiquity. 



A knowledge of the habits and peculiarities of the 
Indians can be acquired in the most pleasing manner by 
the perusal of their history, interspersed as it is with the 
quaint descriptions of old chroniclers, who wrote when the 
events and scenes were vividly impressed upon their minds, 
and before modern refinements had done away with that 
directness of expression which marks their narratives. 

Such details make, moreover, a far stronger impression 
upon the memory than can be effected by a series of dry 
generalities. We shall therefore refer the reader to the 
historical portion of this work for most of the information 
which we shall attempt to convey. 

In this, and in the ensuing chapter, we may frequently 
speak of usages and characteristics, as belonging to a past 
age, which are still to be observed among the more remote 
Western tribes. The difficulty of always drawing the 
distinction in a series of such general remarks as are here 
submitted, must form our excuse for such seeming ana- 
chronisms. 

We notice in the Indian a remarkable gravity and 
innate dignity which leads him to avoid, with the most 



20 



INDIAN KACES OF AMEEICA. 



scrupulous care, all involuntary or impulsive expression 
of his feelings. This is not confined to the occasions 
upon which he calls forth his powers of endurance in suf- 
fering the most cruel torments with apparent insensibility 
or even with exultation, but enters into all the acts of his 
daily life. He betrays no unseemly curiosity or impa- 
tience under circumstances that would naturally excite 
both in the highest degree. Has he been long absent 
from home on a war-path, or on a visit to cities of the 
whites; has he learned some great and threatening dan- 
ger, or has the intelligence reached him of the death of 
those whom he most values; his conduct and method of 
communicating his adventures or his information, are ' 
governed by the same deliberation and immobility. 

Eeturning half famished from an unsuccessful hunt, he 
enters his wigwam, and sits down unquestioned, showing 
no symptom of impatience for food. His wife prepares 
his refreshment, and after smoking his pipe, and satisfying 
his hunger, he volunteers an account of his experience. 
Catlin gives a striking description of the meeting between 
a chief named Wi-jun-jon, who had just returned from an i 
embassy to Washington, and his family. He landed from 
the steamer at his home in the far West, "with a com- 
plete suit en militaire, a colonel's uniform of blue, pre- 
sented to him by the president of the United States' with 
a beaver hat and feather, with epaulettes of gold— with 
sash and belt-, and broadsword; with high-heeled boots— 
with a keg of whiskey under his arm, and a blue umbrella 
in his hand. In this plight and metamorphose, he took 
his position on the bank amongst his friends— his wife 
and other relations; not one of whom exhibited, for an 
half hour or more, the least symptoms of recognition, 
although they knew well who was before them." The 
conduct of the chief was of the same character, but, half 
an hour afterwards, "a gradual, but cold and exceedingly 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 21 



formal recognition began to take place," after which, all 
went on as if he had never been absent. — This strange 
demeanor does not, by any means, result from real indif- 
ference, but from the supposed propriety of suppressing 
any outbreak of emotion. No doubt all the parties to 
the scene above described, were in a state of the greatest 
curiosity and excitement, and the family doubtless felt 
the most exuberant joy at the reunion; but custom, or 
their ideas of good taste, prohibited the exhibition of a 
"scene." Those who are best acquainted with the char- 
acter of the Indians agree that with them the ties of fam- 
ily affection are exceedingly strong and enduring. The 
most touching descriptions are given of the manner in 
which they mourn for the dead, and of the tender and 
faithful remembrance of lost relatives that no length of 
time seems to obliterate. Carver says, "I can assert that, 
notwithstanding the apparent indifference with which an 
Indian meets his wife and children after a long absence, 
an indifference proceeding rather from custom than insen- 
sibility, he is not unmindful of the claims either of con- 
nubial or parental tenderness." 

The same author who had witnessed the most bloody 
and savage scenes of Indian warfare, and who was familiar 
with the cruelties and unrelenting spirit of revenge peculiar 
to the race, candidly bears witness to their good qualities : 

"No people," he says, "can be more hospitable, kind, 
and free. * * The honor of their tribe and the 
welfare of their nation is the first and most predominant 
emotion of their hearts ; and from hence proceed in a great 
measure all their virtues and their vices. * 
No selfish views ever influence their advice or obstruct 
their consultations. * * They are at once guided 
by passions and appetites, which they hold in common 
with the fiercest beasts that inhabit their woods, and are 
possessed of virtues which do honor to human nature." ' 



22 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The Indians are naturally taciturn, but fond of set 
speeches. Their oratory is of no mean order, and is dis- 
tinguished for a pithiness, a quaintness, and occasionally a 
vein of dry sarcasm, which have never been surpassed. 
We have specimens of some of their orations, upon great 
occasions, which are models of stirring eloquence, adorned 
with metaphors and similes which breathe the true spirit 
of poetry. 

The most pleasing traits in the character of these strange 
people are their reverence for age, their affection for their 
children, their high notions of honor, and their keen sense 
of justice. The great stigma upon the whole race is their 
deliberate and systematic cruelty in the treatment of cap- 
tives. It is hard to account for this, but it really appears, 
upon investigation, to be rather a national custom, gradu- 
ally reaching a climax, than to have arisen from any innate 
love of inflicting pain. It is perfectly certain that, if the 
children of the most enlightened nation on earth should be 
brought up in occasional familiarity with scenes like those 
witnessed at the execution of a prisoner by the American 
savages, they would experience no horror at the sight. 
We need not seek farther than the history of religious and 
political persecutions in Europe, or the cruelties practised 
on reputed witches in our own country, to satisfy us that 
the character of the Indians will suffer little by compari- 
son with that of their contemporaries of our own race. 

Among some of those nations which included an ex- 
tensive confederacy, where a system of government had 
become settled by usage, and the authority of the chief 
had been strengthened by long submission to him and his 
predecessors, an arbitrary monarchy seems to have pre- 
vailed; but among the smaller tribes, the authority of the 
chief was rather advisory than absolute. There was gen- 
erally a king who held hereditary office, and exercised 
the powers of a civil governor by virtue of his descent, 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 23 

while to lead the warriors in battle, the bravest, most 
redoubted, and sagacious of the tribe was elected. These 
two chief offices were not unfrequently united m the 
same person, when the lawful sachem, from a spirit of 
emulation or from natural advantages, showed himself 
worthy of the position. 

All matters of national interest were discussed at a sol- 
emn council, consisting of the principal men of the tribe, 
and at which great decorum and formality were observed. 
As the debate proceeded, the whole conclave, whenever 
a remark from the orator speaking excited their appro- 
bation, would give expression to their approval by a gut- 
tural ejaculation. 

A natural instinct of retributive justice ordained that 
the crime of murder should be punished by the hand of 
the deceased person's nearest relative. An interesting 
incident, connected with this custom, is told m a notice of 
the public life of the Hon. Pierre A Eost, of Louisiana, 
given in the United States Law Magazine, for March, 1852. 
He is here said to have been the first to suggest the pro- 
priety of interference in these matters on the part of the 
State Courts. In a drunken fray, an Indian had been 
accidentally killed. "The relatives of the deceased were 
absent at the time; but they soon heard of his death, and 
came from the Indian territory to exact blood for blood 
from the homicide. He was advised to flee, but would 
not, and, in blind submission to the law of the red man, 
agreed to deliver himself on a certain day to be shot. 
The Court was then sitting, and Mr. Eost proposed to the 
presiding judge to prevent the horrid sacrifice, by giving 
the victim a fair trial by jury, many members of which 
were known and respected by the relatives of the deceased, 
and impressing upon the latter the necessity of abiding 
by the verdict, whatever it might be." This was done, 
and every thing was conducted with due form and solemn- 



24 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



rty. The Indian witnesses gave the most satisfactory 
answers when questioned as to their ideas of the obliga- 
tion of an oath, and, after a fall hearing, the defendant 
was acquitted. The decision was translated to the com- 
plainants, and they were told that to Mil the prisoner 
would now be murder, and would subject them to the 
penalties of that crime. 

"Mr. Eost then rose, and stated to the Court that the 
prosecutors had left their hunting-ground to come and 
avenge the death of their relative, as it was their duty to 
do; that justice had been done to the accused, but that 
was not sufficient. Justice must also be done to the other 
side; they must be indemnined for the inconvenience they 
had been put to, and the loss they had sustained; and, as 
the coffers of the treasury would not unlock at the bidding 
of his honor, he moved that the bar, jury, and by-stanch 
ers, contribute a sufficient amount to satisfy them. This 
was done as soon as proposed, and the prosecutors declared 
themselves satisfied." 

The institution of marriage among the American Indians 
is by no means so restrictive a system as that adopted by 
enlightened nations. It is for the most part dissoluble at 
the pleasure of the parties, and polygamy is extensively 
practised. As with other barbarous nations, the woman 
is compelled to undergo the drudgery of daily labor, 
while her lord and master lounges indolently about the 
village, except at times when his energies are called forth 
for hunting or war. When once engaged in these pur- 
suits, his fixedness of purpose, and the readiness with 
which he will undergo the extremes of toil, exposure, 
hunger, and privation, is marvellous. 




■r 




IXD I AX TOMAHAWK, KKTTJ.E, S P O O X, PIPES, Sr c. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



25 



CHAPTER II. 

RELIGION OP THE INDIANS — THEIR WEAPONS, AND SYSTEM OP 
WARFARE— THEIR LODGINGS, DRESS, ORNAMENTS, ETC. 

"Yet simple nature to his hope has given, 
Behind the cloud-topp'd hill an humbler heaven; 
Some safer world, in depths of woods embraced, 
Some happier island in the watery waste."— Pope. 

The Indians, before receiving instruction from Euro- 
peans, generally believed in the existence of a Supreme 
Deity, embodying a principle of universal benevolence, 
and that to him their gratitude was due for all natural 

benefits. . . ., 

On the other hand, they stood in fear of a spirit ot evil, 
whose influence upon human affairs they considered as 
being more direct and familiar. To this being, known 
among many tribes as Hobamocko, much more assiduous 
devotion was paid than to the Great Spirit, it being far 
more essential in their view to deprecate the wrath of a 
terrible enemy, than to seek the favor of one already 
perfectly well disposed towards his creatures. Besides 
these two superior deities, a sort of fanciful mythology, 
not unlike that of many ancient Eastern nations, invested 
every notable object with its tutelary divinity, and bestowed 
on each individual his guardian spirit. 

A general idea that the good would be rewarded, and 
the bad punished, was entertained. Far away to the warm 
South-west, a pleasant land was fabled, in which the hunter, 
after death, should pursue his favorite employment, m the 
midst of abundance, and a stranger for ever to want or 
fear * 

"Where everlasting Autumn lies 
On yellow woods and sunny skies." 



26 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Their heaven was as far removed from the sensual para- 
dise of the Mahometans, as from the pure abstractions of 
an enlightened religion. Ease, comfort, and a sufficiency 
for the natural wants, seemed all-sufficient to these simple 
children of nature, to render an eternity delightful. 

The description handed down to us of the Indian pow- 
wows or conjurers, and their medicine-men, derive an 
additional piquancy and interest from the fact, that those 
who detail them were generally as superstitious as the 
poor natives themselves. We might cite pages in which 
the necromantic performances of the red men are spoken 
of with all the pious horror that would naturally be excited 
by what were considered the direct operations of the devil, 
as displayed in the works of his children. Winslow,' 
taking occasion to explain the meaning of the word "Pan- 
iese," often applied to notable warriors in New England, 
says, "The Panieses are men of great courage and wis- 
dome, and to these also the deuill appeareth more famili- 
arly than to others, and, as we conceiue, maketh couenant 
with them to preserue them from death by wounds with 
arrowes, knives, hatchets, &c." 

The works of the learned divine, Cotton Mather, are 
filled with similar extravagancies. 

These powwows, says Gookin, "are partly wizards and 
witches, holding familiarity with Satan, that evil one; and 
partly are physicians, and make use, at least in show, of 
herbs and roots for curing the sick and diseased. These 
are sent for by the sick and wounded; and by their dia- 
bolical spells, mutterings, exorcisms, they seem to do won- 
ders. They use extraordinary strange motions of their 
bodies, insomuch that they sweat until they foam; and 
thus they continue for some hours together, stroking and 
hovering over the sick.— These powwows are reputed, 
and I conceive justly, to hold familiarity with the devil." 

Wherever the Indians have enjoyed free intercourse 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. I < 

with the whites, they have been no less eager to adopt 
than apt to acquire the use of their more efficacious 
weapons. It is of the primitive instruments for offence 
or defence that we shall now speak. Scattered over the 
whole country, even at the present day, small triangular 
bits of wrought flint, quartz, or other stone are turned up 
by the plough, or seen lying on the surface of the ground. 
These arrow-heads, with occasionally one of a larger size, 
which might have served for a lance, a stone tomahawk, 
a rude pestle, or the fragment of a bowl of the same mate- 
rial, constitute almost the only marks now visible, in the 
thickly settled Eastern states, of the race that formerly 
inhabited them. The opening of a tomb sometimes brings 
to light other relics, and various specimens of native art 
have been preserved among us from generation to gen- 
eration, as curious relics of antiquity; but until we arrive 
at the Western tumuli, (commencing at the state of New 
York) we find but slight impressions upon soil at the 
hands of the red men, and the few and simple articles to 
which we have alluded, constitute the most important pro- 
ductions of their skill, except those formed from a perish- 
able material. 

How the arrow and lance heads could have been attached 
with any degree of firmness to the wood, seems almost 
incomprehensible. Captain Smith describes a species of 
glue which assisted in accomplishing this object, but^ the 
shank or portion of the stone that entered the wood is in 
some of the specimens so short and ill defined, that it seems 
impossible that it should have been held firm in its place 
by such means. The arrow-heads were chipped into shape, 
presenting something the same surface as a gun-flint, while 
the tomahawks and pestles, being of a less intractable 
material, were ground smooth, and some of them were 
highly polished. A handle was commonly affixed to the 
"tom-kog" or tomahawk by inserting it in a split sapling, 



28 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



and waiting for the wood to grow firmly around it; after 
Yfhich, it was cut off at the requisite length. 

The Indian bow was shorter than that formerly used in 
England, and was so stiff as to require great strength or 
skill to bend it. It became a much more effective weapon 
after the introduction of steel or iron arrow-heads, which 
quickly superseded those of stone. Clubs, sometimes 
armed with flints, with the bow and tomahawk, constitute 
the principal weapon of the race. Daggers of flint or 
bone, and shields of buffalo-hide, were in use among some 
of the "Western tribes. 

Divided into innumerable petty nations, nearly the whole 
Indian population lived in a state of insecurity, from the 
constant hostility which prevailed between different tribes. 
So strong a clannish spirit as they all exhibited has seldom 
been noticed in any country, and the bitterest hatred was 
inherited by every individual towards the members of an 
unfriendly tribe. War, as in most nations, whether bar- 
| barous or enlightened, was ever esteemed the most honor- 
able employment. The manner in which hostilities were 
conducted will appear by a detail of some of the more 
noted Indian wars, as given in the ensuing chapters of this 
work. The whole was a system of stratagem and surprise ; 
a pitched battle in an open field was almost unknown, and 
greater honor was ascribed to the chief who, by a night 
attack, destroyed his enemies at a disadvantage, and 
brought away their scalps in triumph, without loss to his 
own people, than to deeds involving the greatest personal 
exposure. The remorseless cruelty with which women 
and children were destroyed in the heat of conflict, has 
furnished a theme for many a tale of horror. 

Previous to a declaration of war against another tribe, 
the chief men and councillors of the nation were in the 
j habit of holding solemn consultations, accompanied by 
numerous fantastic ceremonies. When fully resolved upon 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



29 



hostilities, the first step was to secure the assistance of as 
many of the neighboring tribes as possible, for which 
purpose ambassadors were sent, to set forth the advantages 
of the union, and to cement a treaty by exchange of wam- 
pum. When all was ready, a hatchet or other weapon, 
painted red, was sent as an intimation to the enemy of 
what was in store. We are told that the reception of this 
ominous token, frequently excited such rage in the minds 
of those to whom it was sent ; "that in the first transports of 
their fury, a small party of them would issue forth, with- 
out waiting for permission from the elder chiefs, and, slay- 
ing the first of the offending nation they met, cut open the 
body, and stick a hatchet, of the same kind as that they 
had just received, into the heart of their slaughtered foe." 

When, weary with the war, either party desired to ter- 
minate hostilities, the message was sent under the protect- 
ive influence of the calumet, or pipe of peace, which, like 
a flag of truce among other nations, every where secured 
the person of those who bore it. This pipe, so widely 
celebrated, and of such universal use, was most elaborately 
carved and bedecked. Each nation had its own peculiar 
style of ornament for this all-important symbol, which 
was known to all the neighboring tribes. A solemn and 
ceremonious smoking of the calumet, formed the token of 
ratification to every treaty. When used at the conclusion 
of a peace, the painted hatchet was buried in the ground, 
and belts of wampum, so figured and arranged as to com- 
memorate the essential articles of the pacific agreement, 
ttere presented, to be kept as a perpetual memorial. 

The treatment of captives exhibited the opposite ex- 
tremes of cruelty and kindness. Greatly to the credit of 
-the race, it was observed that, in most instances, white 
women who fell into their hands met with no outrage or 
indignity. They were generally kindly treated, and every 
respect was paid to their feelings. The men taken prison- 



SO INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

ers of war, were either adopted to supply the place of those 
who had fallen in battle,— in which case they were to 
undertake all the responsibilities, and were entitled to all 
the privileges of the one in whose place they stood, — or 
they were solemnly devoted to death, by the most refined 
and cruel torments that diabolical ingenuity could devise. 

On such occasions, all his native powers of stoical endu- 
rance were called forth on the part of the doomed warrior. 
When told what was the fate before him, he would briefly 
express his satisfaction ; and when led to the stake, and sub- 
jected to every torture, by fire and mutilation, he would 
maintain a proud composure, recounting his exploits, and 
the injuries which he had inflicted upon his tormentors 
in former battles, taunting them with their unskilfulness 
in the art, and describing the superior manner in which 
he and his friends had tortured their relatives. Not unfre- 
quently the rage of the surrounding company would be 
so excited by these expressions of contempt, and by their 
inability to break the warrior's spirit, that some of them 
would rush upon him, and dispatch him at once by a blow 
of the tomahawk. 



The habitations and clothing of the Indians varied 
greatly with the temperature of the climate. In the warm 
regions of the South, a slight covering proved sufficient, 
while to resist the severity of a New England winter very 
efficient precautions were taken. The usual manner of 
building their wigwams, was by fixing a row of poles 
firmly in the ground, in the form of a circle, and then 
bending and confining the tops together in the center. A 
hole was left for the smoke of the fire to escape, at the 
top of the cabin; every other part being warmly and 
closely covered with matting. A tight screen hung over 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



31 



the doorway, which was raised when any one entered, and 
then allowed to fall into its place. 

A species of matting was prepared by peeling the bark 
from trees, and subjecting it, packed in layers, to a heavy 
pressure. With this material, or with mats woven from 
rushes, &c, the walls of the huts were so closely thatched, 
as to effectually resist wind and weather. 

Some of these wigwams were of great size, being from 
fifty to a hundred feet in length, but the generality were 
of dimensions suitable to a single family. Their bedding 
consisted of mattresses disposed in bunks attached to the 
walls, or upon low movable couches. Bear and deer skins 
furnished additional covering. Their other furniture and 
household utensils were simple in the extreme. Clay or 
earthern pots, wooden platters, bowls and spoons, and pails 
ingeniously fashioned of birch bark, served their purpose 
for cookery and the table. They were skilled in basket- 
making. 

In many of their towns and villages, the wigwams were 
set in orderly rows, with an open space or court near the 
centre; while the whole was surrounded by a strong pali- 
sade, having but one or two narrow entrances. For spir- 
ited descriptions and sketches of the modern Indian towns 
of the extreme West, the reader is referred to the valuable 
works of Mr. George Catlin. In many respects it will be 
perceived that old customs are still observed. 

The clothing of the Indians consisted mostly of skins, 
dressed with no little skill. Leggins of deer skins, with a 
hand's breadth ofjthe material hanging loose at the side 
seam, and often highly ornamented with fringe and 
embroidery; moccasins of buck, elk, or buffalo skin; and 
a garment of various fashion, from a simple cincture about 
the loins, to a warm and ornamental mantle or coat, com- 
pleted the equipment of the men. 

Yery rarely, even in our own times, do we find Indians 



32 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

who are willing to submit to the restraining and incon- 
venient dress of the whites. They have always been 
accustomed to leave the thigh bare, and about the neck 
they can endure none of the clumsy and disagreeable 
bandages in such universal use among civilized nations. 
1 'Those who wear shirts," says Carver, "never make them 
fast, either at the wrist or collar; this would be a most 
insufferable confinement to them." 

The women wore a short frock, reaching to the knees ; 
their covering for the legs and feet were similar to that 
worn by the men. In some portions of the country, very 
beautiful specimens of ornamental mantles, covered with 
neatly-arranged feathers, were seen and described by early 
writers. Colored porcupine quills were in general use, 
both for stitching and ornamenting the clothing and other 
equipments of the Indian. 

A fondness for gay colors and gaudy ornaments has 
ever been conspicuous in- the whole race. From pocone 
and other roots, a brilliant red paint or dye was prepared, 
with which and with other pigments — as charcoal, earths, 
and extracts from the barks of certain trees — they painted 
their bodies, in different styles, either to make a terrible 
impression on their enemies, or simply to bedeck themselves 
in a becoming manner in the eyes of their friends. The 
usual savage custom of wearing pendants at the ears was 
common. The cartilage was frequently stretched and 
enlarged by weights, and by winding it with brass wire, 
until it nearly reached the shoulder. Tattooing was prac- 
tised by some nations, but not so systematically, or to so 
great an extent as has been observed among the savages 
of warmer climates, where little clothing is worn. 

One of the most noted species of ornament, which 
answered all the purpose of a circulating medium among 
the Eastern Indians, was wampum. This consisted of 
small circular bits of sea-shell, smoothly ground and pol- 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



33 



islied, with a hole drilled through the centre of each, by 
which it might be strung, or attached ornamentally to the 
belt or other parts of the dress. The " qua-hog " or round 
clam furnished the principal material for this coin, the 
varie gated purple portions of the shell being much the 
most valuable. The great labor in preparing it, was the 
boring, which was effected by a sharp flint. When we 
consider the slow nature of such a process, we can scarce 
credit the accounts given of the immense quantities of 
wampum that were procured by the white colonists, while 
it retained its value, in exchange for European commodities, 
or which were exacted as tribute, in atonement for national 
offences. 

"The wompompeague," says Gookin, "is made princi- 
pally by the Block Islanders and Long Island Indians. 
Upon the sandy flats and shores of those coasts the wilk 
shells are found. With this wompompeague they pay 
tribute, redeem captives, satisfy for murders and other 
wrongs, purchase peace with their potent neighbors, as 
occasion requires ; in a word, it answers all occasions with 
them, as gold and silver doth with us. They delight much 
in having and using knives, combs, scissors, hatchets, hoes, 
guns, needles, awls, looking-glasses and such like necessa- 
ries which they purchase of the English and Dutch with 
their peague, and then sell them their peltry for their 
wompeague." 

The principal articles of food used by the aborigines of 
the present United States, were the products of the chase, 
fish, beans, some species of squashes and pumpkins, and 
maize or Indian Corn. Wild rice, growing in rich wet 
land in the interior of the country, famished a wholesome 
and easily gathered supply of farinaceous food to the tribes 
of the temperate portion of the United States. Shell fish 
were a very important addition to the resources of those 
who dwelt near the sea-coast, and in the interior, various 
3 



34 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

species of wild roots, and certain nutritions bark supplied 
the failure of the cultivated crop, and furnished the means 
to eke out a subsistence when the hunt was unsuccessful 
or the last year's stores had been consumed before the sea- 
son of harvest. 

To effect a clearing, and to secure a crop with such rude 
implements of stone as they possessed, appears to us almost 
an impracticable undertaking; but we are assured, by early 
writers, that they obtained as large a yield from a given 
spot of ground as can be produced by the assistance of 
all modern conveniences and contrivances. Two dishes, 
greatly in vogue among the Indians, have maintained their 
popularity among their European successors. Green corn, 
the ripening of which was celebrated by a national dance, 
is sought as eagerly as when it supplied a grateful refresh- 
ment to the red men, emaciated, as Smith describes them, 
by the Spring diet of fish and roots. A preparation, 
denominated "Succotash," consisting of maize, boiled with 
beans, and flavored with fat bear's meat, or fish, still 
remains (with the substitution of pork for wild meats) a 
favorite dish in New England. Carver says that, as pre- 
pared by the natives, it was "beyond comparison delicious." 

It is singular that the use of milk should have been 
entirely unknown before the advent of the whites, although 
there were various animals in the country from which it 
might have been procured. This fact has been adduced 
as a strong argument against the hypothesis, that immi- 
grants from the nomadic tribes of Tartary have mingled 
with the red race in comparatively modern times. If the 
ferocity or wildness of the buffalo, deer, or elk, had at 
first seemed to render their domestication impracticable, 
yet it is not probable that so important an article of sub- 
sistence would have been not only disused, but entirely 
forgotten, until many generations had passed away. 

With the foregoing brief sketch of some of the more 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 



35 



marked Indian traits and peculiarities, we, will dismiss this 
portion of our subject ; and, dealing no more in generalities, 
proceed to take up trie history of various tribes and nations, 
somewhat in the order of the dates of their first intercourse 
with Europeans. We need make no apology for the 
omission of many minor clans, or for avoiding that par- 
ticularity, in the delineation of private character, which 
belongs rather to t&ography than to general history. 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 
CHAPTER I. 

UNITED STATES TERRITORY, ETC. 

"But what are These, still standing in the midst? 
The Earth has rocked beneath; the Thunder-stone 
Passed through and through, and left its traces there, 
Yet still they stand as by some Unknown Charter! 
Oh, they are Nature's own ! and, as allied 
To the vast Mountains and the eternal Sea, 
They want no written history; theirs a voice 
For ever speaking to the heart of Man !" — Rogers. 

In the absence of any written record of those numerous 
races which formerly peopled this hemisphere, information 
must be sought in their monuments, and in the disinterred 
relics of their ancient manner of life. These, considering 
the almost unbroken wilderness which presented itself 
to the first white adventurers, are surprisingly numerous. 
They indicate the former existence of populous nations, 
excelling in many of the arts of civilization, and capable, 
by their numbers and combination, of executing the most 
gigantic works for religion, public defence, and commem- 
oration of the dead. Such relics, though, for the most part, 
not immediately pertaining to the history of the Indian 
tribes, have supported the conjectures advanced by Hum- 
boldt and other eminent cosmographers, that these races are 
but the dwindled and degraded remains of once flourishino- 
and populous nations. The retrograde process to which 
certain forms of incomplete civilization appear doomed, has 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. ol 

perhaps been most strikingly exemplified in the difference 
| to be discovered between the feeble and scattered tribes 
| of the red race, and those powerful and populous com- 
munities who occupied the soil before them. 

The relics of the former people, usually discovered on or 
j I slightly beneath the surface of the ground, are of a rude 
l" I and simple character, differing little from the specimens 
I common among their descendants of the present day. 
i i The flint arrow-head, chipped painfully into shape— the 
I j stone tomahawk, knife, and chisel— the pipe, the rude pot- 

I tery and savage ornaments, are their only relics ; and these 

I I differ but little from the same articles still fabricated by 
j their successors. 

Except among the Esquimaux, who occasionally use 
j j stone, and who avail themselves of the arch and dome 
| ! in the construction of their snow huts, nothing like regular 
| j architecture can be assigned to the late or modern tribes 
I occupying this continent northward of Mexico. The 
! Indian tumuli, or mounds of burial, are generally small 
\ and of simple construction. It has, however, been ration- 
| ally supposed that the force of religious custom, surviving 
art and civilization, has preserved to the red tribes this 
\ characteristic method of their forefathers; and that the 

I rude barrows, which they still erect, are but the puny and 
I dwindled descendants of those mighty mounds and ter- 

| i raced pyramids which still rear their heads from the isth- 

I I mus to'the lakes, and from the shores of Florida to the 
j ! Mexican Cordilleras. 

The origin of these and of other unquestionably ancient 

i remains, is to the antiquarian a question of the most lively 

I ' and perplexing interest. Here, in unknown ages and for 

! unknown periods, have existed wealth, power, and civil- 

! i ization ; yet the remains by which these are indicated seem 

j I to furnish but a slight clue to the epoch and history of 

i I their long-vanished constructors. Within the mounds and 

11 



38 



DsDIAjS* RACES OF AMERICA. 



miiral embankments scattered through a large portion of 
this country, are found the remains of high mechanical 
and scientific art. Pottery, the most fragile of man's 
works, yet almost indestructible by time, still remains in 
large quantities and in good preservation. In the com- 
position and coloring of these articles, much chemical skill 
is evinced ; while in many cases, their grace of form and 
perfection of finish rival the remains of Grecian or Etrus- 
can art. Some of these ancient vessels are of immense 
size; one, disinterred from a Western mound, being eight- 
een feet in length by six in breadth. Glass beads of rare 
and elaborate construction have been found; stone orna- 
ments, skilfully wrought, and brick, much resembling 
that in modern use, have been often discovered. 

Metallic remains are frequent. Copper, used both for 
weapons and for ornament, has often been found, and occa- I 
sionally specimens, plated with silver, have been disinter- 
red. At an ancient mound in Marietta, a silver cup 
finely gilt on the inside, was exposed to view by the wash- 
ing of a stream. It has been often questioned whether 
the use of iron was known to these aboriginal races ; but 
except the occasional presence of rust in the excavations, 
little has been ascertained with certainty — the perishable 
nature of that metal peculiarly exposing it to the destroy- 
ing influence of time and dampness. 

Inscriptions upon rocks, mostly of a hieroglyphic char- 
acter, are numerous ; and on the walls of several caverns 
in the west, some extraordinary specimens may be seen. 
In the same gloomy receptacles have been found numbers 
of a species of mummy, most carefully prepared, and 
beautifully covered with colored feathers, symmetrically 
arranged. Stone coffins and burial urns of great beauty 
have also been disinhumed from the Western mounds. 



J 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



39 



MOUNDS AND FORTIFICATIONS, 

«* * * * Are they here — 

The dead of other days?— And did the dust 

Of these fair solitudes once stir with life, 

And burn with passion?— Let the mighty mounds 

That overlook the rivers, or that rise 

In the dim forest, crowded with old oaks, 

Answer. A race that long has passed away 

Built them; a disciplined and populous race 

Heaped, with long toil, the earth, while yet the Greek 

Was hewing the Pentelicus to forms 

Of symmetry, and rearing on its rock 

The glittering Parthenon. These ample fields 

Nourished their harvests; here their herds were fed, 

When haply by their stalls the bison lowed, 

And bowed his maned shoulder to the yoke." 

Bryant. 

The mural remains, in the United States alone, are of 
almost incredible number, and of most imposing magnitude. 
It has been asserted by an accurate western antiquarian— 
"I should not exaggerate if I were to say that more than 
five thousand might be found, some of them enclosing 
more than a hundred acres." The mounds and tumuli, 
he remarks, are far more numerous. Professor Bafinesque 
ascertained the existence of more than five hundred ancient 
monuments in Kentucky alone, and fourteen hundred m 
other states, most of which he had personally examined. 
These remains appear most numerous in the vicinity of 
the Mississippi and its tributaries, and near the great lakes 
and the rivers which flow into them. A striking proof 
of their immense antiquity is to be found in the fact that 
the latter stand upon the ancient margin of the lakes, from 
which, in some immemorial age, their waters are known 
to have receded. 

It is remarkable that these peculiar works of antiquity 
touch the ocean only in Florida at the southern extremity 



40 



INDIAN BACKS OF AMEEICA. 



of the Atlantic coast; and their greater number and mag- 
nitude in the south and west seems to fortify the supposi- 
tion that their founders came originally from Mexico, and 
were, perhaps, a people identical with the builders of Cho- 
lula and Teotihuacan. 

The extent of some of these works is extraordinary. 
In New York, (where at least a hundred of them have been 
surveyed) in the county of Onondaga, formerly existed 
the remains of a fortification enclosing more than five 
hundred acres. Three circular forts, disposed as a trian- 
gle, and situated about eight miles distant from each other, 
served as its outworks. In many of these fortified places, 
considerable military skill is evinced; angles, bastions' 
and curtains, being frequently traceable. "Though much 
defaced by time," says a traveller, of the entrenchments 
near lake Pepin, "every angle was distinguishable, and 
appeared as regular, and fashioned with as much military 
skill, as if planned by Yauban himself." 

Some of the most remarkable of these works have been 
discovered in Georgia. On the banks of the Little Eiver, 
near Wrightsborough, are found the remnants of "a stu- 
pendous conical pyramid, vast tetragon terraces, and a 
large sunken or excavated area of a cubical form, encom- 
passed with banks of earth, and also the remains of an 
extensive town." Other and similar structures occur in 
the same region. On the Savannah, among other extensive 
remains, is a conical mound, truncated, fifty feet in height, 
and eight hundred in circumference at its base. In other 
portions of the same region are found excavations, and 
vast quadrangular terraces. Florida abounds in vestiges 
of a similar nature. 

At the west, these remains assume a much more perma- 
nent and imposing character. On a branch of the Musk- 
ingum river, in Ohio, a series of entrenchments and mounds, 
two miles in length, and of great solidity of structure, is 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



41 



found to exist. In Licking county, a most extensive range 
of fortifications, embracing or protecting an extent of sev- 
eral miles, has been traced. 

At Circleville, in the same state, were found two exten- 
sive earthen enclosures, one an exact circle, and the other 
a correct square, corresponding precisely to the cardinal 
points of the compass; and a mound ninety feet in height. 
In most of these and other similar ruins, stone was used, 
though to a limited extent. Parallel walls, communicating 
with the water, sometimes at a distance of several miles, 
are features common to many of these structures. Farther 
west, the extensive use of brick in constructing similar 
edifices has been ascertained; and an arched sewer, con- 
structed of stone, indicates a knowledge of architecture far 
superior to that possessed by most semi-civihzed nations. 

In Missouri, and other regions of the west, the remains 
of stone buildings have been frequently discovered— in 
one instance, those of a town, regularly laid out in streets 
and squares. Upon the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, 
some of the most extensive fortified works are found. In 
one of these, on the latter river, are two immense mounds, 
truncated, each eighty feet high, and one thousand in cir- 
cumference at the base. 

These gigantic mounds are among the most interesting 
and thickly scattered relics of the vanished races. Many 
of them are tumuli, or sepulchres of the dead, others were 
connected with the defensive fortifications, and others, of 
the grandest and most imposing aspect, were probably huge 
altars of idolatrous worship.* In general, these ancient* 
mounds may be distinguished from those of the Indians 
by their greater size, and still more certainly by the nature 
of their contents. Some of these latter have already been 
described. Besides utensils of lead, silver, and copper, the 

* The usual material employed in their construction is earth, though 
occasionally they have been built of stone. 



42 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



oxydized remains of iron have been found. Mica mirrors 
of various sizes, with a variety of marine shells, are among 
the deposits. 

The practice of burning the dead appears to have been 
common. Masses of ashes and charcoal are often found 
mixed with incinerated bones. In Fairfield county, Ohio, 
a huge earthern-ware caldron, placed upon a furnace, was 
disinterred. It was eighteen feet long by six broad; and 
contained the skeletons of twelve persons, besides various 
articles, which had been buried with them. They were 
in a large mound, fifteen feet below the surface of the earth. 

In the great mound at Circleville, an immense number 
of skeletons were found, all laid with their heads toward 
the centre. 

In Illinois, nearly opposite St. Louis, within the circuit 
of a few miles, are more than an hundred and fifty mounds, 
some of extraordinary size. One of them, formerly occu- 
pied by monks of the Order of La Trappe, is ninety feet 
in height and nearly half a mile in circumference. It is 
a remarkable circumstance that the soil of which these 
huge cones are constructed, must occasionally have been 
brought from a great distance.* The occasional exist- 
ence of terraces or stages of ascent would seem to indi- 
cate a similarity of origin with the pyramidal structures 
of Mexico. 

Indeed, it is difficult to suppose that the authors of these 
extensive remains could have had other than a south-west- 
ern origin. All are ancient in the extreme; yet probably 
they were erected by successive races, and the most ven- 
erable antiquity seems attached to the forest-covered 
mounds of the West. 

Mr. Bradford, in his interesting Eesearches into the Ori- 
gin of the Red Race, (from which many of the foregoing 

* Many others of great size, varying somewhat in form, yet all evincing 
a striking similarity in construction, might be described. 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



43 



facts have been drawn,) adopts with safety the following 
conclusions in regard to the ancient occupants of our soil. 

1. "That they were all of the same origin, branches of 
the same race, and possessed of similar customs and insti- 
tutions. 

2. "That they were populous, and occupied a great 
extent of territory. 

3. "That they had arrived at a considerable degree of 
civilization, were associated in large communities, and lived 
in extensive cities. 

4. "That they possessed the use of many of the metals, 
such as lead, copper, gold, and silver, and probably the 
art of working in them. 

5. "That they sculptured, in stone, and sometimes used j 
that material in the construction of their edifices. 

6. That they had the knowledge of the arch of receding 
steps; of the art of pottery,— producing urns and utensils 
formed with taste, and constructed upon the principles of 
chemical composition; and of the art of brick-making. 

7. ' ' That they worked the salt springs, and manufactured 
that substance. 

8. " That they were an agricultural people, living under 
the influence and protection of regular forms of government. 

9. " That they possessed a decided system of religion, 
and a mythology connected with astronomy, which, with 
its sister science, geometry, was in the hands of the 
priesthood. 

10. "That they were skilled in the art of fortification. 

11. "That the epoch of their original settlement, in the 
United States, is of great antiquity; and, 

Lastly, "That the only indications of their origin, to be 
gathered from the locality of their ruined monuments, 
point toward Mexico." 



4A 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTEE II. 

ANTIQUITIES OF MEXICO, ETC. 

"They stand between the mountains and the sea; 
Awful memorials, but of whom we know not ! 
■ — Time was they stood along the crowded street, 
Temples of Gods!" — Rogers. 

The South-western regions of North America present a 
most extensive and interesting field for antiquarian research. 
The long-continued existence of powerful, civilized, and 
populous races is folly proved by the occurrence of almost 
innumerable ruins and national relics. Even in the six- I 
teenth century, the Spanish invaders found these regions 
in the possession of a highly-prosperous and partially- 
civilized people. Government and social institutions were 
upon that firm and well-defined basis which betokened 
long continuance and strong national sentiment. In many 
of the arts and sciences, the subjugated races were equal, j 
and in others superior, to their Christian conquerors. 
Their public edifices and internal improvements were on 
as high a scale, and of as scientific a character, as those 
of most European nations of the day. 

The fanatical zeal of Cortez and his successors destroyed 
invaluable records of their history and nationality; and 
many of their most splendid edifices fell before the ravages j 
of war and bigotry; yet numerous structures still exist, [ 
though in ruins, attesting the art and industry of their 
founders. Pyramids, in great numbers, still rear their 
terraced and truncated surfaces through the land. In the 
first fury of the conquest, the great Teocalli, or Temple 
of the city of Mexico, was levelled to the ground, and 
we can only learn by the description of its destroyers, with 
what pomp and ceremony the Mexicans celebrated on its 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 40 

I summit the rites of their sanguinary worsnip. The colos- 
! ! sal figures of the sun and moon, covered with plates of 
i I gold, the hideous stone of sacrifice, and the terrible sound 
| of the great war-drum, are mingled with strange fascina- 
I tion of description in the pages of the early chroniclers. 

In the city of Tezcuco, which is said to have contained 
! an hundred and forty thousand houses, are the remains of 
! a great pyramid, built of large masses of basalt, finely 
! polished and curiously sculptured in hieroglyphics. Other | 
I similar edifices in the neighborhood are composed of j 
! brick. The enormous structure of Cholula, covering a , 
surface twice larger than the great Egyptian pyramid, but , 
truncated at half its altitude, still, in its ruins, excites the 
admiration of travellers. 

A still more extraordinary effort of semi-civilized indus- 
try is to be found in the celebrated Xochicalco, or " House j 
of Flowers," situated on the plain of Cuernavaca, more 
than a mile above the level of the sea. It appears to be 
I a natural hill, shaped in a pyramidal form by human labor, 
and divided into four terraces. It is between three and 
j four hundred feet in height, and nearly three miles in cir- 
cumference. 

Eight leagues from the city of Mexico are the two cele- 
brated pyramids of Teotihuacan, sacred, according to tra- 
dition, to the deified sun and moon. The larger has a 
base nearly seven hundred feet in length, and is an hun- 
dred and eighty feet in height. They are faced with stone, 
and covered with a durable cement These pyramidal 
structures may be estimated by thousands in the South- 
western provinces of this continent. 

The ruins of ancient cities, in the same region, are 
extremely numerous, and every thing evinces the former 
existence of a swarming and industrious population. In 
Tezcuco and its vicinity are the remains of very magnifi- 
cent buildings and aqueducts. At Mitlan, in the district 



46 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBICA. 



of Zapoteca, occur specimens of architecture of the most 
imposing character. Six porphyry columns, each nine- 
teen feet in height, and of a single stone, decorated the 
interior of the principal building. Elaborate Mosaic work 
and illustrative paintings abound, strongly resembling 
some of the classical antiquities. 

The ruins of Palenque, in Chiapa, are among the most 
extensive and remarkable. Here formerly stood a great 
city, the remains of which can be traced, it is said, over a 
space six or seven leagues in circumference. Much elab- 
orate sculpture, exhibiting curious historical reliefs, is dis- 
covered in the forsaken apartments of the ancient palaces 
and temples. These represent human sacrifices, dances, 
devotion, and other national customs. The richly-carved 
figure of a cross excites surprise and speculation — the 
same emblem having been discovered elsewhere, as well 
as in [Northern America. 

Many surprising remains, both of erection and excava- 
tion, are to be found near Villa Nueva, in the province of 
Zacatecas. A rocky mountain has been cut into terraces, 
and extensive ruins of pyramids, causeways, quadrangu- 
lar enclosures, and massive walls are still standing. 

At Copan, in Honduras, among many other remarkable 
works, are found numerous stone obelisks, of little height, 
covered with hieroglyphical representations. The relics 
of a fantastic idolatry are frequent. " Monstrous figures 
are found amongst the ruins ; one represents the colossal 
head of an alligator, having in its jaws a figure with a 
human face, but the paws of an animal ; another monster 
has the appearance of a gigantic toad in an erect pos- 
ture, with human arms and tiger's claws." At the time of 
the Spanish conquest, Copan was still a large and popu- 
lous city. It is now utterly deserted. 

The extensive ruins of Uxmal or Itzlan, in Yucatan, 
have been, ever since the memory of man, overgrown with 



AMEKICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



47 



an ancient forest. At this place is a large court, paved 
entirely with the figures of tortoises, beautifully carved 
in relief. This curious pavement consists of more than 

! forty-three thousand of these reptiles, much worn, though 
cut upon very hard stone. A large pyramid and temple 
are still standing, containing some elegant statues, and, 
it is supposed, the representation of the elephant. Great 

I mathematical accuracy and adhesion to the cardinal points 

j distinguish the relics of this city. 

1 Many other extraordinary remains might be.cited. The 
| works of the Mexican nation, such as it was found by the 
I Spaniards, were of a massive and enduring character. 
! Extensive walls, designed for a defence against foreign 
enemies; large public granaries and baths, with admir- 
able roads and aqueducts, evinced a degree of power and 
enlightenment to which the colored races have seldom 
attained. 

Sculpture and elaborate carving were favorite occupa- 
tions of the Mexicans, as well as of their forefathers, or 
the races which preceded them. The famous Stone of 
Sacrifice, the Calendar of Montezuma, and the hideous 
| idol Teoyamique, all still preserved, attest the grotesque- 
j ness and elaborate fancy of their designs. The latter 
image, as described by a traveller, "is hewn out of one 
solid block of basalt, nine feet high. Its outlines give an 
idea of a deformed human figure, uniting all that is ter- 
rible in the tiger and rattle-snake. Instead of arms, it is 
supplied with two large serpents, and its drapery is com- 
posed of wreathed snakes, interwoven in the. most disgust- 
ing manner, and the sides terminating in the wings of a 
vulture. Its feet are those of a tiger, and between them 
lies the head of another rattle-snake, which seems descend- 
ing from the body of the idol. For decorations, it has a 
large necklace composed of human hearts, hands and 
skulls, and it has evidently been painted originally in 



48 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



natural colors." Other figures of the deified rattle-snake 
have been discovered. 

Great skill existed in the art of pottery, and many ves- 
sels of exquisite design and finish have been disinterred. 

The hieroglyphical paintings and manuscripts of the 
Mexicans were, with few exceptions, destroyed by their 
fanatical conquerors. Some choice specimens, however, 
still exist; principally exhibiting the migrations of the 
Aztecs, their wars, their religious ceremonies, and the 
genealogy of their sovereigns. Almanacs and other cal- 
endars of an astronomical nature have been preserved. 
The material of the manuscript consists, of the skins of 
animals, or of a kind of vegetable paper, formed in a man- 
ner similar to the Egyptian papyrus. 

Of the numerous cities and temples, whose remains are 
so abundant, many were, doubtless, erected by the Aztec 
people, whom Cortez found so numerous and flourishing, 
or by their immediate ancestors. Others were, probably, 
constructed at a remote age, and by a people who had at an 
early period migrated to these regions. A certain resem- 
blance, however, appears to pervade them all. The pre- 
sence of enormous pyramids and quadrangles, the peculiar 
construction of causeways and aqueducts, and the great 
similarity in mythological representation, appear to indi- 
cate that their founders were originally of a common stock 
and all of certain national prepossessions. 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



49 



CHAPTER III. 

ANTIQUITIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

«* * * \Ve are but where we were, 
Still wandering in a City of the Dead!" 

Rogers. 

At the Spanish discovery, South America, like the 
Northern continent, was, in a great portion, peopled by 
half-savage tribes, resembling the Indians of our own 
country. Some powerful and partially-civilized kingdoms, 
however, yet survived, and of these, the empire of the 
Peruvian Incas was the first. Under the sway of these 
powerful sovereigns was comprehended an extensive dis- 
trict, lying along the Pacific coast for many hundreds of 
miles. Other nations, in their vicinity, of whose history 
we are ignorant, also possessed a considerable share of 
power and independent government. 

The antiquities of these regions, so similar to those of 
the Northern continent, appear to prove a similarity of 
origin in their founders. Very numerous mounds occur, 
some of them two hundred feet in height, and containing 
relics of the dead. Urns of fine construction, and human 
bodies interred in a sitting posture have been excavated. 
Embalming has evidently been extensively practised, and 
in many instances the arid nature of the soil, without this 
precaution, has preserved the bodies of its ancient inhabi- 
tants. Caverns appear to have been frequently adopted 
as cemeteries. In one of these, six hundred skeletons 
were found, bent double, and regularly arranged in bask- 
ets. Stone tombs, of a very massive construction, have 
also been disinhumed. 

In these mounds and graves are found a great variety 
of ancient implements, of gold, copper, and stone. Exqui- 
site carvings in stone, and jewels evincing great skill in 
4 



50 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the lapidary, have been discovered.. The idols of gold 
and copper are often of singular construction, being formed 
of thin plates of metal hammered into their respective 
shapes, without a single seam, Stone mirrors and vases 
of marble, weapons, domestic utensils, cotton cloth of fine 
texture, and the implements of ancient mining, have also 
been frequently brought to light. 

The system of ancient agriculture and of artificial irri- 
gation appears to have been extremely ingenious, and well 
adapted to the nature of the soil and climate, reminding 
us strongly of the Chinese industry in effecting similar 
objects. The steepest mountains were laid out in terraces, 
and aqueducts of the most solid and durable construction 
conveyed water for domestic uses and the fertilization of 
land. In some instances, the pipes of these aqueducts were 
of gold — a circumstance which excited the cupidity of the 
Spaniards, and contributed to their destruction. 

The public roads and causeways laid out by this ancient 
people, may justly compete with the most celebrated works 
of the same kind in the old world. Their Cyclopean archi- 
tecture, and the ingenuity with which the greatest natural 
j difficulties have been overcome, excite the admiration of 
j travellers and inquirers. " We were surprised," says Hum- 
| boldt, "to rind at this place (Assuay), and at heights which 
greatly surpass the top of the Peak of Teneriffe, the mag- 
nificent remains of a road constructed by the Incas of 
Peru. This causeway, lined with freestone, may be com- 
pared to the finest Roman roads I have seen, in Italy, 
France or Spain. It is perfectly straight, and keeps the 
same direction for six or eight thousand metres. We 
observed the continuation of this road near Caxamarca, 
one hundred and twenty leagues to the south of Assuay, 
and it is believed, in the country, that it led as far as the 
city of Cuzco." When complete, it extended from Cuzco 
to Quito, a distance of five hundred leagues. 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



51 



"One of these great roads passed through the plains 
near the sea, and the other over the mountains in the inte- 
rior. Augustin de Carate says that for the construction 
of the road over the mountains, they were compelled to 
! cut away rocks, and to fill up chasms, often from ninety 
| to one hundred and twenty feet deep, and that when it 
was first made, it was so plain and level, that a carriage 
might easily pass over it; and of the other, which pursued 
a less difficult route, that it was forty feet wide, and as 
it was carried through valleys, in order to avoid the 
| trouble of rising and descending, it was constructed upon 
| a high embankment of earth."* 

The ruins of many edifices, all of massive construction, 
and all bearing the marks of similarity of origin, are scat- 
tered throughout a great expanse of country. In the 
ancient city of Tiahuanaco, built before the days of the 
Incas, the architecture appears to have been of the most 
massive character, reminding us of the Cyclopean struc- 
tures at Baalbec and Mycenae. Immense porches and 
doorways, each formed of a single stone, and supported 
j on masses of similar magnitude, struck the early travel- 
I lers with astonishment. In Cuzco, the city of the Incas, 
| are many remains of a singular character. The walls are 
built of stones of great dimensions, and, though of many 
angles, fitted so accurately that the interstices can scarcely 
be seen. On a round mountain near Caxamaroa, are the 
extensive ruins of a city, built in terraces, and constructed 
of such enormous stones, that a single slab often forms the 
entire side of an apartment. Above these circular terraces, 
seven in number, appear the remains of a great fortress 
or palace. Many cities of a similar construction have been 
discovered. In some instances, pointed or bell-shaped roofs, 
composed of stones laid in cement, have been remarked. 



* Bradford's Origin and History of the Red Race. 



52 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Some of the ruins are constructed of unburnt brick, exceed- 
ingly hardened by the sun. 

Many sculptures, evincing great skill and delicacy, still 
exist. These are the more remarkable when it is consid- 
ered that the chief instruments of the ancient inhabitants 
were, probably, for the most part, composed only of hard 
ened copper. Of this material, their weapons, often of 
exquisite manufacture, were composed. Far to the north- 
ward, beyond the dominion of the Incas, inscriptions and 
figures may be found sculptured on the rocks. "On the 
banks of the Orinoco and in various parts of Guiana, there 
are rude figures traced upon granite and other hard stones, 
some of them, like those in the United States, cut at an 
immense height upon the face of perpendicular rocks. 
They represent the sun and moon, tigers, crocodiles and 
snakes, and occasionally they appear to be hieroglyphical 
figures and regular characters." 

The surprising number of these ruins and relics, and 
the great space over which they extend, indicate the exist- 
ence, for many ages, of a people possessing all the power 
which regular government, settled institutions, and national 
character can give. "In examining," says Mr. Bradford, 
"the line of civilization, as indicated at present by these 
ancient remains, which is found to commence on the plains 
of Yarinas, and to extend thence to the ruins of the stone 
edifices, which were observed about the middle of the last 
century, on the road over the Andes, in the province of 
Cujo, in Chili, or to the road described by the Jesuit j 
ImonsfF, or to the ancient aqueducts upon the banks of j 
the river Maypocho, in south latitude thirty-three degrees, j 
sixteen minutes ; we are surprised to discover a continuous, 
unbroken chain of these relics of aboriginal civilization. 
Reverting to the epoch of their construction, we are pre- 
sented with the astonishing spectacle of a great race cul- 
tivating the earth, and possessing many of the arts diffused 



AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



53 



at an early period through an immense territory, three 
thousand miles in extent. Even up to the time of the 
discovery, most of this vast region was occupied by pop- 
ulous tribes, who were dependent upon agriculture for 
subsistence, were clothed, and in the enjoyment of regular 
systems of religion, and their own peculiar forms of gov- 
ernment. From conquest, and various causes, some sov- 
ereignties had increased more rapidly than others; but 
still, whether we are guided by the testimony of the Span- 
ish invaders, or by the internal evidence yet existent in 
the ancient ruins, it is impossible not to trace, alike in 
their manners, customs, and physical appearance, and in 
the general similitude observable in the character of their 
monuments, that they were all members of the same fam- 
ily of the human race, and probably of identical origin." 



THE ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL REMARKS— EXPEDITION OF GRUALVA — 
HERNANDO CORTEZ. 

"* * * The Race of Yore; 
How are they blotted from the things that be!" 

Scott. 

The kingdoms of New Spain, as Central America and 
the adjoining country were first called, presented a far dif- 
ferent aspect, when first discovered by Europeans, from 
that of the vast and inhospitable wilderness at the North 
and East. Instead of an unbroken forest, thinly inhabited 
by roving savages, here were seen large and well-built 
cities, a people of gentler mood and more refined manners, 
and an advancement in the useful arts which removed the 
inhabitants as far from their rude neighbors, in the scale 
of civilization, as they themselves were excelled by the 
nations of Europe. 

When first discovered and explored by Europeans, Mex- 
ico was a kingdom of great extent and power. Monte- 
zuma, chronicled as the eleventh, in regular succession, of 
the Aztec monarchs, held supreme authority. His domin- 
ions extended from near the isthmus of Darien, to the 
undefined country of the Ottomies and Chichimecas, rude 
nations living in a barbarous state among the mountains 
of the North. His name signified "the surly (or grave) 
Prince," a title justified by the solemn and ceremonious 
homage which he constantly exacted. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



55 



When the Spaniards first appeared on the coast, the 
natural terror excited by such nnheard-of conquerors was 
infinitely heightened by divers portents and omens, which 
the magicians and necromancers of the king construed as 
warnings of great and disastrous revolutions. This occa- 
sioned that strange, weak, and vacillating policy, which, 
as we shall hereafter see, he adopted towards Cortez. 
Comets, conflagrations, overflows, monsters, dreams, and 
visions, were constantly brought to the notice of the royal 
council, and inferences were drawn therefrom as to the 
wisest course to be pursued. 

The national character, religion and customs of the Mex- 
icans presented stranger anomalies than have ever been 
witnessed in any nation on the earth. They entertained 
abstract ideas of right and wrong, with systems of ethics 
and social proprieties, which, for truth and purity, com- 
pare favorably with the most enlightened doctrines of civ- 
ilized nations, while, at the same time, the custom of 
human sacrifice was carried to a scarcely credible extent, 
and accompanied by circumstances of cruelty, filthiness 
and cannibalism, more loathsome than ever elsewhere 
disgraced the most barbarous of nations. 

A vast amount of labor and research has been expended 
in efforts to arrive at some satisfactory conclusion as to the 
causes which led to the Mexican superiority in the arts of 
civilization over the other inhabitants of the New World. 
Analogies, so strong as to leave little doubt upon the mind 
that they must be more than coincidences, were found, on 
the first discovery of the country, between the traditions, 
religious exercises, sculpture, and language of the inhab- 
itants of Central America, and those of various nations in 
the Old World. Notwithstanding this, the great distinct- 
ive difference in the bodily conformation of all natives of 
the Western Continent, from the people of the East, proves 
sufficiently that, previous to the Spanish discoveries, the 



56 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



time elapsed since any direct communication could have 
existed between the two, must have been very great. The 
obvious antiquity of the architectural remains carries us 
back to a most remote era: some maintain that portions 
of these must have been standing for as many centuries 
as the great pyramids of Egypt, while others refer them to 
a much later origin. The pernicious habit of first adopting 
a theory, and then searching for such facts only as tend to 
support it, was never more forcibly exemplified than in the 
variant hypotheses as to the origin of Mexican civilization. 

The valley and country of Anahuac, or Mexico, was 
successively peopled, according to tradition and the evi- 
dence of ancient hieroglyphics, by the Toltecs, the Chi- 
chimecas, and the Nahuatlacas, of which last-mentioned 
people, the Aztecs, who finally obtained the ascendancy, 
formed the principal tribe. These immigrations were from 
some indeterminate region at the north, and appear to 
have been the result of a gradual progression southward, 
as traces of the peculiar architectural structures of the 
Mexican nations are to be found stretching throughout the 
country between the Rocky Mountains and the sea, as far 
north as the Gila and Colorado. 

The periods of these several arrivals in Anahuac are 
set down as follows. That of the Toltecs, about the mid- 
dle of the seventh century, and of the rude Chichimecas 
the year 1070. The Nahuatlacas commenced their migra- 
tions about 1170, and the Aztecs, separating themselves 
from the rest of the nation, founded the ancient city of 
Mexico in the year 1325. 

^ The tale of cruelties, oppressions, and wholesale destruc- 
tion attendant upon the Spanish invasion and conquest, 
is a long one, and can be here but briefly epitomized; but 
enough will be given to leave, as far as practicable, a just 
impression of the real condition of these primitive nations, 
and the more marked outlines of their history. 



HERJVJJJVI) Q CORTEZ, 
FROM AN ORIGINAL PORTRAIT BY TITIAN* 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



57 



In the early part of the sixteenth century, the eastern 
I shore of Mexico and Central America had been explored 
by Spanish navigators; and Yasco Nugnez de Balboa, led 
by the ordinary attraction— tales of a country rich in gold 
I and silver— had, in September, 1513, crossed the isthmus 
j to the great and unknown ocean of the West. The con- 
dition and character of the natives was but little noticed 
I by these early explorers, and.no motives of policy or human- 
ity restrained them from treating those they met as caprice 
or fanaticism might dictate. Balboa is indeed spoken of 
| as inclined to more humane courses in his intercourse with 
I the natives than many of his contemporaries, but even he 
! showed himself by no means scrupulous in the means by 
which he forced his way through the country, and levied 
contributions upon the native chiefs. 

The mind of the Spanish nation was at last aroused 
and inflamed by accounts of the wealth and power of the 
great country open to adventure in New Spain, and plans 
were laid to undertake some more notable possession in 
those regions than had yet resulted from the unsuccessful 
and petty attempts at colonization upon the coast. 

Diego Yalasquez, governor of Cuba, as lieutenant to 
Diego Colon, son and successor of the great admiral, sent 
an expedition, under command of Juan de Grrijalva, to 
Yucatan and the adjoining coast, in April of the year 1518. 
After revenging former injuries received from the natives 
of Yucatan, the party sailed westward, and entered the 
river of Tobasco, where some intercourse and petty traffic 
was carried on with the Indians. The natives were filled 
with wonder at the "Make of the Ships, and difference of 
the Men and Habits," on their first appearance, and "stood 
without Motion, as deprived of the use of their Hands by 
the Astonishment under which their Eyes had brought 
them." 

The usual propositions were made by the Spanish com- 



60 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



quality, and condition of each of the horses is described 
with great particularity. 

The first land made was the island of Cozumel, off the 
coast of Yucatan. One of the vessels' reached the island 
two days before the rest ; and finding the habitations of the 
natives abandoned, the Spaniards ranged the country, and 
plundered their huts and temple, carrying off divers small 
gold images, together with clothes and provisions. 

Cortez, on his arrival, strongly reprehended these pro- 
ceedings, and, liberating three Indians who had been 
taken prisoners, sent them to seek out their friends, and 
explain to them his friendly intentions. Their confidence 
was perfectly restored by this act, and by the restoration 
of the stolen property; so that the next day, the chief 
came with his people to the camp, and mingled with the 
Spaniards on the most friendly terms. 

No farther violence was offered to them or their prop- 
erty during the stay of the Spaniards, except that these 
zealous reformers seized the idols in the temple, and roll- 
ing them down the steps, built an altar, and placed an 
image of the Yirgin upon it, erecting a wooden crucifix 
hard by. The holy father, Juan Diaz, then said Mass, to 
the great edification of the wondering natives. 

This temple was a well-built edifice of stone, and con- 
tained a hideous idol in somewhat of the human form. 
"All the Idols," says de Solis, "worshipped by these mis- 
erable People, were formed in the same Manner; for tho' 
they differed in the Make and Eepresentation, they were 
all alike most abominably ugly ; whether it was that these 
Barbarians had no Notion of any other Model, or that the 
Devil really appeared to them in some such Shape; so 
that he who struck out the most hideous figure, was 
accounted the best work man." 

Seeing that no prodigy succeeded the destruction of 
their gods, the savages were the more ready to pay attention 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



61 



to the teachings which were so earnestly impressed upon 
them by the strangers, and appeared to hold the symbols 
of their worship in some veneration, offering incense 
before them, as erstwhile to the idols. 

Cortez heard one of the Indians make many attempts 
to pronounce the word Castilla, and, his attention being 
attracted by the circumstance, he pursued his inquiries 
until he ascertained that two Spaniards were living among 
the Indians on the main. 

He immediately used great diligence to ransom and 
restore them to liberty, and succeeded in the case of one of 
them, named Jeronimo de Aguilar* who occupies an import- 
ant place in the subsequent details of adventure. The 
other, one Alonzo Guerrero, having married a wife among 
the Indians, preferred to remain in his present condition. 
He said to his companion: "Brother Aguilar, I am mar- 
ried, and have three sons, and am a Cacique and- captain m 
the wars; go you in God's name; my face is marked, and 
my ears bored; what would those Spaniards think of me 
if I went among them?" 

De Solis says of this man that his natural affection was 
but a pretence "why he would not abandon those deplor- 
able Conveniences, which, with him weighed more than 
Honour or Keligion. We do not find that any other 
Spaniard, in the whole Course of these Conquests, com- 
mitted the like Crime; nor was the name of this Wretch 
worthy to be remembered in this History: But, being 
found in the writings of others, it could not be concealed; 
and his Example serves to show us the Weakness of 
Nature, and into what an Abyss of Misery a man may 
fall, when God has abandon'd him." 

Poor Aguilar had been eight years a captive: tatooed, 
nearly naked, and browned by sun, he was scarce distin- 
guishable from his Indian companions, and the only Cas- 
tilian words which he was at first able to recall were " Dios, 



m 



INDIAN" EACES OF AMERICA. 



Santa Maria," and "Sevilla." Still mindful of his old 
associations and religion, he bore at his shoulder the tat- 
tered fragments of a prayer-book. 

He belonged to a ship's crew who had been wrecked 
on the coast, and was the only survivor of the number, 
except Guerrero. The rest had died from disease and 
overwork, or had been sacrificed to the idols of the coun- 
try. Aguilar had been "reserved for a future occasion 
by reason of his Leanness," and succeeded in escaping 
to another tribe and another master. 

Cortez sailed with his fleet, from Cozumel, for the river 
Tabasco, which was reached on the 13th of March, 1519. 
Urging their way against the current, in the boats and 
smaller craft — for the principal vessels were left; at anchor 
near the mouth— the whole armament entered the stream. 
As they advanced, the Spaniards perceived great bodies 
of Indians, in canoes, and on both banks, whose outcries 
were interpreted by Aguilar to be expressions of hostility 
and defiance. Night came on before any attack was made 
on either side. Next morning, the armament recom- 
menced its progress, in the form of a crescent: the men, 
protected as well as possible by their shields and quilted 
mail, were ordered to keep silence, and offer no violence 
until ordered. Aguilar, who understood the language of 
these Indians, was commissioned to explain the friendly 
purposes of his companions, and to warn the natives of 
the consequences that would result from their opposition. 
The Indians, with signs of great fury and violence, refused 
to listen to him, or to grant permission to the Spaniards 
to supply themselves with wood and water. 

The engagement commenced by a shower of arrows 
from the canoes on the river, and an immense multitude 
opposed the landing of the troops. Numbers and bravery 
could not, however, avail against the European skill and 
implements of warfare. Those in the canoes were easily 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



68 



driven off, and, notwithstanding the difficulties of a wet 
and marshy shore, where thousands of the enemy lay con- 
cealed to spring upon them unawares, the Spanish forces 
made their way to the town of Tabasco, driving the In- 
dians into the fortress, or dispersing them in the forest. 
Tabasco was protected in the ordinary Indian style, by 
strong palisades of trees, a narrow and crooked entrance 
being left. 

Cortez immediately attacked the town, and, by firing 
through the palisades, his troops soon drove in the bow- 
men who were defending them, and after a time, got com- 
plete possession. 

The town was obstinately defended, even after the Span- 
iards had effected an entrance. The enemy retreated be- 
hind a second barricade, "fronting" the troops, "valiantly 
whistling and shouting £ al calachioni,' or 'kill the cap- 
tain.' " They were finally overpowered, and fled to the 
woods. 



CHAPTER IL 

GREAT BATTLES WITH THE NATIVES — CONCILIATORY 
INTERCOURSE — DONNA MARINA,, 

Hitherto a blind superstition, by which supernatural 
powers were ascribed to the whites, had quelled the vigoi 
and spirit of the Indians, but an interpreter named Mel- 
chorejo, whom Cortez had brought over from Cuba, de- 
serted from the Spaniards during the first night spent in 
Tabasco, and urged the natives to another engagement. 
He explained the real nature of the mysterious weapons 
whose flash and thunder had created such terror, and dis- 
abused the simple savages of the ideas entertained by them 
of the invulnerable nature of their foes. They proved in 



64 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the subsequent battles much more dangerous opponents 
than before. The narrator mentions, with no little satis- 
faction, the fate of this deserter. His new allies, it seems, 
"being vanquished a second time, revenged themselves on 
the adviser of the war, by making him a miserable sacri- 
fice to their idols." 

All was as still, upon the succeeding day, as if the coun- 
try was abandoned by its inhabitants, but a party of one 
hundred men, on a scout, was suddenly surrounded and 
attacked by such hordes of the enemy, that they might 
have been cut off from sheer fatigue, but for another com- 
pany which came to their assistance. As the Spaniards 
endeavored to retreat to the camp, the Indians would rush 
upon them in full force, "who, immediately upon their 
facing about, got out of their reach, retiring with the same 
swiftness that they were attacked; the motions of this 
great multitude of barbarians from one side to another, 
resembling the rolling of the sea, whose waves are driven 
back by the wind." 

Two of the Spaniards were killed and eleven wounded 
in the fray : of the Indians, eighteen were seen lying dead 
on the field, and several prisoners were taken. From these 
Cortez learned that tribes from all sides were gathered to 
assist those of Tabasco in a general engagement planned 
for the next day, and he accordingly made the most dili- 
gent preparation to receive them. The horses were brought 
on shore, and care was taken to restore their animation, 
subdued by confinement on board ship. 

As soon as day broke, Mass was said, and the little army 
was put in motion to advance upon the enemy. They 
were discovered marshalled on the vast plain of -Cintia, 
in such numbers that it was impossible to compute them. 
They extended so far, says Solis, " that the sight could not 
reach to see the end of them." The Indian warriors were 
painted and plumed, their arms were bows and arrows, 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



65 



I slings, darts, clubs armed with sharp flints, and heavy 
i wooden swords. The bodies of the leaders were protected 
I by quilted coats of cotton, and they bore shields of tor- 
j toise-shell or wood, mounted, in some instances, with gold. 

To the sound of rude drums, and the blast of sea-shells 
I and large flutes, the vast crowd fell furiously upon the 
' Spaniards, and although checked by their more efficient 
I weapons, only retired to a convenient distance for hurling 
i stones and discharging arrows. The field-pieces mowed 
| them down by hundreds, but concealing the havoc by rais- 
ing clouds of dust, and closing up their ranks with shouts 
of "ala— lala" (the precise sound of the Turkish war-cry, 
| viz: a constant repetition of the word Allah), they held 
their ground with the most determined courage. 

The little handful of cavalry, which, led by Cortez in 
| person, had made a detour to avoid a marsh, now fell upon 
i the Indians from a new quarter, and, riding through and 
j through the crowded mass of savages, so bewildered and 
; amazed them, that they fled, in dismay. No such animal 
| as the horse had ever before been seen by them: they 
! took the monsters, says Diaz, for centaurs, supposing the 
| horse and his rider to be one. 

On the field of battle, as the conquerors passed over it, 
lay more than eight hundred dead or desperately wounded, 
i But two of the Spaniards were killed, although seventy 
i of their number were wounded at the first rush of the 
j barbarians. 

The victors having rendered thanks "to God and to our 
Lady, his blessed Mother," for their success, dressed their 
wounds, and those of the invaluable horses, with the fat 
j of dead Indians, and retired to refresh themselves by food 
and sleep. 

Lopez de Gomara affirms that one of the holy apostles, 
under the form of Francisco de Morla, appeared upon the 
field during this bloody engagement, and turned the scale 
5 

i 



66 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



of victory. Diaz says: "It might be the case, and I, sin- 
ner as I am, was not permitted to see it. What I did see 
was Francisco de Morla, in company with Cortez and the 
rest, upon a chesnut horse — But although I, unworthy sin- 
ner that I am, was unfit to behold either of those holy 
apostles, upwards of four hundred of us were present ; let 
their testimony be taken." He adds, that he never heard 
of the incident until he read of it in Gomara's history. 

Several prisoners were taken in this battle, among them 
two who appeared to be of superior rank. These were 
dismissed with presents and favors, to carry proposals of 
peace to their friends. The result was highly satisfactory : 
fifteen slaves, with blackened faces and ragged attire "in 
token of contrition," came bringing offerings. Permission 
was given to bury and burn the bodies of those who fell 
in the terrible slaughter, that they might not be devoured 
by wild beasts ("Lyons and Tygers" according to Diaz). 
This duty accomplished, ten of the caciques and principal 
men made their appearance, clad in robes of state, and j 
expressed desire for peace, excusing their hostility, as the j 
result of bad advice from their neighbors and the persua- 
sion of the renegade whom they had sacrificed. Cortez 
took pains to impress them with ideas of his power and 
the greatness of the monarch he served ; he ordered the 
artillery to be discharged, and one of the most spirited of j 
the horses to be brought into the reception-room : "it being j 
so contrived that he should show himself to the greatest j 
advantage, his apparent fierceness, and his action, struck j 
the natives with awe." 

Many more chiefs came in on the following day, bring- | j 
ing the usual presents of little gold figures, the material 
of which came, they said, from " Culchua," and from " Mex- 
ico," words not yet familiar to the ears of the Spaniards. 

Twenty women were, moreover, offered as presents, and 
gladly received by Cortez, who bestowed one upon each 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



67 



of his officers. They were all duly baptized, and had 
the pleasure of listening to a discourse upon the mysteries 
of his faith, delivered for their especial benefit by Father ! 
Bartholomew, the spiritual guide of the invaders. Know- 
ing nothing of the language, and having no competent 
interpreter, it probably made no very vivid impression, 
but these captives were set down as the first Christian 
women of the country. 

Among them was one young woman of remarkable 
beauty and intelligence, whom the Spaniards christened 
Marina. She was said to be of royal parentage, but, from 
parental cruelty, or the fortunes of war, had been held in 
slavery at a settlement on the borders of Yucatan, where 
a Mexican fort was established, and afterwards fell into 
the hands of the Tabascan cacique. She spoke both the 
Mexican language, and that common to Yucatan and 
Tabasco, so that Cortez was able, by means of her and 
Aguilar, to communicate with the inhabitants of the 
interior, through a double interpretation, until Marina had 
mastered the Spanish tongue. She accompanied Cortez 
throughout his eventful career in Mexico, and had a son 
by him, who was made, says Solis, "a Knight of St. Jago, 
in consideration of the Nobility of his Mother's birth." 
Before this connection she had been bestowed by the com- 
mander upon one Alonzo Puerto Carrero, until his depart- 
ure for Castile. 



68 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER III. 

COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEXICAN EMPEROR THE 

ZEMPOALLANS AND QUIAVISTLANS. 

" Thou too dost purge from earth its horrible 
And old idolatries; — from their proud fanes 
Each to his grave their priests go out, till none 
Is left to teach their worship!" 

Bryant's Hymn to Death. 

Before Ms departure from Tabasco, Cortez and his 
priest made strenuous efforts to explain the principles of 
his religion to the chiefs and their people. This, indeed, 
seems really to have been a purpose uppermost in his 
heart throughout the whole of his bloody campaign ; but, 
as may well be supposed, the subject was too abstract, too 
novel, and too little capable of proofs which appeal to the 
senses and inclinations, to meet with much favor. " They 
only complied," says Solis, "as men that were subdued, 
being more inclined to receive another God than to part 
with any of their own. They hearkened with pleasure, 
and seemed desirous to comprehend what they heard: but 
reason was no sooner admitted by the will than it was 
rejected by the understanding." They acknowledged 
that "this must, indeed, be a great God, to whom such 
valiant men show so much respect." 

From the river Tabasco the fleet sailed direct for San 
Juan de Ulua, where they were no sooner moored than 
two large piraguas with a number of Indians on board, 
came boldly alongside. By the interpretation of Marina, 
Cortez learned that these came in behalf of Pitalpitoque 
and Tendile, Governor and Captain of the district, under 
Montezuma, to inquire as to his purposes, and to make 
offers of friendship and assistance. The messengers were 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



69 



handsomely entertained, and dismissed with a few pres- 
ents, trifling in themselves, but of inestimable value in 
their unskilful eyes. 

As the troops landed, Tendile sent great numbers of his 
men to assist in erecting huts for their accommodation ; a 
service which was rendered with remarkable dexterity 
and rapidity. 

On the morning of Easter-day, the two great officers 
came to the camp with a lordly company of attendants. 
Not to be outdone in parade, Cortez marshalled his sol- 
diers, and having conducted the chiefs to the rude chapel, 
Mass was said with due ceremony. He then feasted them, 
and opened negotiations by telling of his great sovereign, 
Don Carlos, of Austria, (Charles the Fifth,) and express- 
ing a desire to hold communion in his behalf with the 
mighty Emperor Montezuma. 

This proposition met with little favor. Tendile urged 
him to accept the presents of plumed cotton mantles, gold, 
&c, which they had brought to offer him, and depart in 
peace. Diaz says that the Indian commander expressed 
haughty astonishment at the Spaniard's presumption. 
Cortez told them that he was fully resolved not to leave 
the country without obtaining an audience from the em- 
peror; but, to quiet the apprehension and disturbance of 
the Indians, he agreed to wait until a message could be 
sent to the court and an answer returned, before com- 
mencing further operations. 

Painters, whose skill Diaz enlarges upon, now set to 
work to depict upon rolls of cloth, the portraits of Cortez 
and his officers, the aspect of the army, the arms, and 
other furniture, the smoke poured forth from the cannon, 
and, above all, the horses, whose "obedient fierceness" 
struck them with astonishment. These representations 
were for the benefit of Montezuma, that he might learn 
more clearly than he could by verbal report, the nature 



70 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



of his novel visitants. By the messengers, Cortez sent, 
as a royal present, a crimson velvet cap, with a gold 
medal upon it, some ornaments of cut glass, and a chair 
of tapestry. 

Pitalpitoque now settled himself, with a great company 
of his people, in a temporary collection of huts, built in 
the immediate vicinity of the Spanish camp, while Ten- 
dile attended to the delivery of the message to his mon- 
arch. Diaz says that he went to the royal court, at the 
city of Mexico, in person, being renowned for his swift- 
ness of foot; but the more probable account is that he 
availed himself of a regular system of couriers, established 
over the more important routes throughout the empire. 
However this may be, an answer was returned in seven 
days' time, the distance between Mexico and San Juan 
being sixty leagues, by the shortest road. 

With the messenger returned a great officer of the 
court, named Quintalbor, who bore a most striking resem- 
blance to Cortez, and one hundred other Indians, loaded 
with gifts for the Spaniards. Escorted by Tendile, the 
embassy arrived at the camp, and, after performing the 
usual ceremony of solemn salutations, by burning incense, 
&c, the Mexican lords caused mats to be spread, and dis- 
played the gorgeous presents they had brought. 

These consisted of beautifully woven cotton cloths; 
ornamental work in feathers, so skilfully executed that 
the figures represented had all the effect of a painting; 
a quantity of gold in its rough state; images wrought or 
cast in gold of various animals; and, above all, two huge 
plates, one of gold, the other of silver, fancifully chased 
and embossed to represent the sun and moon. Diaz says 
that the golden sun was of the size of a carriage wheel, 
and that the silver plate was still larger. 

Proffering these rich tokens of good will, together with 
numerous minor articles, the chiefs delivered their mon- 



71 



arch's mission. Accompanied by every expression of 
good will, his refusal was declared to allow the strangers 
to visit his court. Bad roads and hostile tribes were 
alleged to constitute insuperable difficulties, but it was 
hinted that more important, though unexplainable reasons 
existed why the interview could not take place. 

Cortez, courteously, but firmly, persisted in his deter- 
mination, and dismissed the ambassadors with renewed 
gifts; expressing himself content to await yet another 
message from Montezuma. He said that he could not, 
I without dishonoring the king his master, return before 
having personal communication with the emperor. 

He, meantime, sent a detachment further up the coast, 
with two vessels, to seek for a more convenient and 
healthy place of encampment than the burning plain of 
sand where the army was now quartered. 

Montezuma persisted in objections to the advance of 
the Spaniards, and Cortez being equally immovable in 
his determination to proceed, the friendly intercourse hith- 
erto maintained between the natives and their guests now 
ceased. Tendile took his leave with some ominous threats, 
I and Pitalpitoque with his people departed from their tem- 
porary domiciles. 

The soldiers, cut off from their former supplies of pro- 
vision, and seeing nothing but danger and privation in 
i store for them, began to rebel, and to talk of returning 
| home. Cortez checked this movement by precisely the 
j same policy that was resorted to by Agamemnon and Ulys- 
ses, under somewhat similar circumstances, as will be found 
at large in the second book of the Iliad, line 110 et seq. 
He seemed to assent to the arguments of the spokesman 
I of the malcontents, and proceeded to proclaim his purpose 
of making sail for Cuba, but, in the meantime, engaged 
the most trusty of his friends to excite a contrary feeling 
among the troops. The effort was signally successful : the 



72 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



commander graciously consented to remain, and lead them 
to further conquests, expressing his great satisfaction in 
finding them of such bold and determined spirit. 

About this time, Bernal Diaz and another sentinel being 
stationed on the beach, at some distance from the camp, 
perceived five Indians of a different appearance from any 
hitherto seen, approaching them upon the level sands. 
Diaz conducted them to the general, who learned, by 
Marina's interpretation, that they came in behalf of the 
cacique of Zempoala, or Cempoal, to proffer the services 
of their king and his people. This tribe held the Mexi- 
cans in great fear and detestation, and rejoiced in the 
opportunity now presented for attempting some retaliation 
for former oppressions and injuries. 

The exploring expedition had discovered a desirable 
location, at the town of Quiavistlan, a few leagues north 
of the encampment, and Cortez concluded to move thither 
immediately. Before taking further steps, he established 
himself more firmly in command by resigning his commis- 
sion under Valasquez, and taking the vote of his followers 
as to whether he should be their captain. This being settled 
to his satisfaction, he marched for Quiavistlan, passing the 
river at the spot where Yera Cruz was afterwards built. 

Zempoalla lay in his route, and there the army was 
met by a deputation from the cacique, he being too cor- 
pulent to come in person. Sweet-smelling flowers were 
offered as tokens of friendship to the Spanish officers. 
The town was well built, and ornamented with shade- 
trees. The inhabitants collected in innumerable but or- 
derly crowds to witness the entrance of the cavalcade. 
The "fat cacique" entertained his guests handsomely, 
making grievous complaints of the oppressions and exac- 
tions suffered by him and his tribes at the hands of Mon- 
tezuma's officers. He had been subdued by the great 
emperor, and was now his unwilling tributary. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



73 



Quiavistlan was situated upon a rocky eminence, up 
which, the army advanced, prepared to crush any opposi- 
tion on the part of the inhabitants. These, however, had 
mostly fled from their homes on the approach of the Span- 
iards. In the principal square, Cortez was met, and saluted 
with the usual fumigations of incense, by fifteen of the 
chief men of the town. They excused the timidity of 
their people, and promised that they should immediately 
return, as no injuries were intended by the strangers. 

They came accordingly; the chiefs, together with the 
corpulent cacique of Zempoalla, being borne upon litters. 
All united in lamentations over the cruel state of degra- 
dation and servitude to which they were subjected by the 
tyrant Montezuma. He plundered them of their treasures, 
seized and carried away their wives and daughters, and 
sacrificed no small number of them to his gods. 

While they were yet consulting and beseeching assist- 
ance from the Spaniards, the whole conclave was stricken 
with terror by the intelligence of the arrival of five royal 
emissaries or tax-gatherers. These stately personages, to 
whom the Quiavistlans hastened to minister with cringing 
servility, did not even condescend to bestow a look upon 
the Spanish officers. "They were dressed," says Diaz, 
"in mantles elegantly wrought, and drawers of the same, 
their hair shining, and, as it were, tied at the top of the 
head, and each of them had in his hand a bunch of roses, 
which he occasionally smelt to. They were attended by 
servants, who fanned them, and each of whom carried a 
cord and a hooked stick." 

Calling the caciques before them, these dignitaries re- 
buked them for entertaining foreigners, who disregarded 
the expressed will of the emperor, and, as a punishment 
for the contempt, demanded twenty victims for sacrifice. 
Cortez, being informed of this, advised the seizure and 
imprisonment of these emissaries until report of their cru- 



74 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



elties and insolence could be made to their master. The 
caciques, accustomed to submission, were at first horror- 
stricken at the proposal, but Cortez persisting boldly and 
confidently in his opinion, they went to the other extreme. 
The five magnates were placed, says Solis, "in a kind of 
Pillories, used in their Prisons, and very incommodious; 
for they held the delinquents by the neck, obliging them 
continually to do the utmost with their shoulders to ease 
the weight, for the freedom of breathing." " One of them, 
also, being refractory, was beaten soundly." 

The exultant Quiavistlans would have gone still farther, 
and made a speedy end of their prisoners, had not Cortez 
interfered. Not willing to give immediate offence to Mon- 
tezuma, but desirous of being in condition at any moment 
to pick a quarrel, or to claim the rewards and considera- 
tion due to meritorious services, he contrived to effect the 
escape of two of these lords, charging them to give him 
all credit for the act at their master's court. To preserve 
the other three from destruction, he took them on board one 
of his vessels, (the fleet having come round by sea) under 
pretence of safe keeping. He, none the less, proclaimed 
to the caciques, his allies, that they should thereafter be 
free from all oppressions and exactions on the part of the 
Mexican authorities. 

The army was now set to work at the foundation of a 
permanent fortification and town. By the willing assist- 
ance of the natives, the walls of Yera Cruz rose rapidly. 
To excite a spirit of industry and emulation, Cortez com- 
menced the work of digging and carrying materials with 
his own hands. Thirty caciques, from the mountainous 
districts of the Totonaques, led by reports of Spanish valor 
and virtues, came in to offer their services and alliance. 
Their followers are numbered by Herrera (an author who 
speaks too confidently of particulars) at one hundred thou- 
sand men ; wild mountaineers, but bold and efficient. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



75 



While all hands were at work upon the new town, mes- 
! sengers once again appeared from Montezuma. His anger, 
| greatly excited by the first reports of the seizure of his 
officers, had been mitigated by the favorable report of those 
I who had been allowed to escape; and he now sent two of 
j his own nephews, accompanied by four old lords, and a 
! splendid retinue. Acknowledgments were made by the 
embassy for the service rendered by Cortez in setting the 
| two tax-gatherers at liberty; but he was, at the same time, 
1 vehemently requested to leave the country, and not hin- 
! der, by the respect due to his presence, the just punish- 
! ment of the rebels with whom he was cohabiting. He 
! was adjured not to dream of making further progress 
towards the royal court, "for that the impediments and 
dangers of that journey were very great. On which point 
| they enlarged with a mysterious tediousness; this being 
I the principal point of their instructions." 

Cortez replied that danger and difficulties would but 
give zest to the adventure, for that Spaniards knew no 
fear, and only sought for glory and renown. He enter- 
tained the ministers handsomely, and dismissed them 
with presents. 

The Zempoalans thought that the friendship cemented 
between them and the foreigners could not be taken ad- 
vantage of better than by engaging them to subdue a 
neighboring tribe, whose chief town was called Cingapa- 
cinga. They therefore induced Cortez, by pretending that 
a troublesome Mexican garrison was quartered there, to 
assist them in conquering the country. With four hun- 
dred Spaniards, and a great company of Zempoalans, the 
Spanish leader entered the mountain district where the 
enemy was to be sought, As the army approached the 
town, eight old priests, in black and hooded robes, like 
I friars, came out to deprecate his anger. These function- 
aries presented, as usual, the most disgusting and horrible 



76 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEKICA. 



appearance. Their long hair was tangled and clotted with 
human blood, which it was a part of their rules should 
never be washed off, and their persons were filthy, loath- 
some, and offensive beyond conception. 

Cortez discovered that he had been deceived, as no 
Mexicans were in the vicinity, but he put a good face on 
the matter, and succeeded in making a peaceable arrange- 
ment between the rival tribes. 

Eeturning to Zempoala, renewed evidence was brought 
before the eyes of this zealous Catholic, of the extent to 
which the custom of human sacrifice was carried; and 
especially of the sale and consumption of the bodies of 
the victims as a "sacred food." He therefore concluded 
to prostrate the idols, and set up the insignia of the true 
religion. Long and earnest harangues failed to induce 
the natives to perform this service themselves : they would 
be cut to pieces, they said, ere they would be guilty of 
such sacrilege. The soldiers then broke up and destroyed 
the images, purged the temples, and, covering the bloody 
marks of pagan worship with lime and plaster, erected an 
altar, and celebrated the rites of Catholicism. As no pro- 
digy or signal vengeance from Heaven followed the auda- 
cious act, the pliable natives seemed readily to fall in with 
the proposed change, and, burning the fragments of their 
idols, they aped the posture and formula of the devout 
Spaniards. An old and partially disabled soldier, named 
Torres, agreed to remain as keeper of the newly-conse- 
crated temple, on the departure of the troops. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



77 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE MARCH TO TLA SC ALA OCCUPATION OF THE CITY GREAT 

MASSACRE AT CHOLULA— ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY OF 
MEXICO, AND INTERVIEW WITH MONTEZUMA 
DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE, ETC. 

"What divine monsters, Oh ye gods, are these, 
That float in air, and fly upon the seas! 
Came they alive or dead upon the shore?" 

Dryden. 

The bold and adventurous leader of the Spaniards now 
began to set in earnest about his work of conquest. He 
dispatched one ship direct for Spain, to obtain a confirma- 
tion from the sovereign of his authority in New Spain; 
and, with the consent of most of his companions, dis- 
mantled and sunk the rest of the fleet, that all might be 
nerved to the most desperate efforts by the alternative 
presented them of death or complete success. 

Leaving a garrison at the coast settlement, he com- 
menced his march into the interior, accompanied by a 
body of Zempoalans. The Indians of Jalapa, Socochima, 
and Texucla, offered them no molestation, and, after en- 
during great hardships in the passage of the rugged 
mountains, the army reached Zocothlan. 

Near the religious temples of this town, Diaz affirms, 
with repeated asseverations, that he saw human skeletons, 
so orderly arranged, that their numbers could be com- 
puted with certainty, and that they could not have 
amounted to less than one hundred thousand. Beside 
these were huge piles of skulls and bones : other remnants 
of mortality were hung from beams. Three priests had 
charge of these relics. 

Contrary to the advice of the cacique of this province, 



78 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Cortez determined to pass through the country of Tlas- 
cala, whose inhabitants were inimical to Montezuma. 

Four Zempoalan Indians, decked out in the style deemed 
suitable for ambassadors, and bearing arrows, feathered 
with white, and carried point downwards, in token of a 
peaceful mission, were sent to wait on the Tlascalan 
authorities. They were received with respect by the sen- 
ate or chief council, whose members were ranged in order, 
in a great hall, seated upon low chairs, each made from a 
single block of some remarkable wood. 

Great debate ensued as to whether the strangers should 
be permitted to pass through the country. On the one 
hand, ancient prophecies were cited of an invincible race 
that should come from the East. The remarkable fulfil- 
ment in the landing of these white men, of many attend- 
ant circumstances foretold, touching the ships, arms, and 
valor of the invaders, was enlarged upon, and it was pro- 
nounced madness to cope with them. On the other hand, \ 
it was suggested that the Spaniards might be nothing bet- 
ter than "monsters flung up by the sea upon the coasts," 
and, if not, that their sacrilege and cruelties forbade the 
idea that they could be other than evil and avaricious 
barbarians, who should be crushed as noxious reptiles. 

It was concluded to try the strength of the whites, and, 
if they could not be resisted, the assault should be attri- 
buted to the intractibility of the Ottomies, a nation of 
rude and warlike mountaineers. 

The result might readily be foreseen: no force, how- 
ever overwhelming in numbers, could resist the fire-arms, 
the discipline, and more especially the horses of the Span- 
iards. These animals "(supernatural or monstrous in 
their imagination) " so terrified the Indians, that they trod 
one another under foot in efforts to escape from the rush 
of the little corps of cavalry. In several engagements, 
although under advantageous circumstances, as in ambus- 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



79 



cades and night attacks, the Tlascalans were routed, and 
vast numbers of their warriors were slaughtered. Cortez, 
to strike further terror, cut off the hands or thumbs 
of fourteen or fifteen captives, and sent them to their 
own people to report what manner of men he and his 
followers were. 

Montezuma, hearing of these successes, sent more mes- 
sengers to endeavor to persuade Cortez not to make fur- 
ther advance, and at the same time to obstruct the con- 
clusion of a peace between him and the Tlascalans. These 
efforts failed signally: Xicotencal, the general of the 
opposing forces, in behalf of the town and nation, made 
an amicable settlement of difficulties with the Spaniards. 

With great pomp and ceremony, Cortez marched his 
army into the town of Tlascala, on the 23d of September, 
(1519). The situation of the place was rugged and moun- 
tainous, giving the streets great irregularity ; but the build- 
ings were substantial, and the fortifications massive. Here 
the army tarried twenty days, and then marched for Cho- 
lula, a great city, entirely subject to the emperor. Before 
they set out, Montezuma had again sent heralds to an- 
nounce his final consent to a meeting, and that* quarters 
for the Spanish troops should be made ready at Cholula, 

Several thousand Tlascalans, armed and equipped, volun- 
tarily offered their services, and the whole army reached 
Cholula without molestation. Here the magnates of the 
town met them, objecting to the entrance of the Indian 
allies, as they had been enemies of the nation ; and it was 
agreed that the Spaniards and Zempoalans alone should 
be quartered in the city, while the rest should encamp in 
the suburbs. Here were seen evidences of greater wealth, 
and higher attainments in architectural skill, than at any 
place before visited. The caciques appeared friendly, and 
furnished provisions for the troops for several days ; but 
finally discontinued both their visits and supplies. This 



80 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



aroused the suspicions of Cortez, and he determined to 
maintain the utmost vigilance. 

At this juncture an old woman of rank came to Marina, 
for whom she had contracted great friendship, and begged 
her to forsake the Spaniards, and come to live with her 
and her friends. Marina, ever on the watch to serve her 
lord and master, pretended compliance, and, by judicious 
questions, elicited from the old woman all the particulars 
of a formidable plot for the destruction of the Spaniards. 
Montezuma had sent twenty thousand men into the vicin- 
ity, part of whom were already secretly brought within the 
walls ; pit-falls with sharp stakes at the bottom had been 
prepared in the principal highways for the destruction of 
the horses ; and stones were piled on the roofs of the houses 
to hurl down upon the devoted army. Diaz says: "The 
recompense which they intended for our holy and friendly 
services was to kill us and eat us, for which purpose the 
pots were already boiling, and prepared with salt, pepper 
and tomatas." Seven human victims had been sacrificed 
to propitiate the favor of the gods, and it was purposed to 
devote twenty of the Spaniards to the same fate, as soon 
as they could be secured. 

All these things were confirmed by a searching examin- 
ation of some of the caciques, who, surprised at the super- 
natural penetration of the Spaniards, confessed the whole, 
but attributed it entirely to Montezuma. With his usual 
duplicity, Cortez spoke of this conspiracy in confidence to 
the ambassadors from the court, pretending that he had 
no suspicion of the part Montezuma had taken. He then 
gave public orders for marching on the ensuing day, in 
order to precipitate the hostile movement, but, at the same 
time, had all his plans arranged for battle, and intelligence 
conveyed to his Tlascalan troops to be ready to assist him 
at the dawning of day. 

"With the first light all was in motion ; the Cholulans 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



81 



appointed to carry the baggage, and those who came armed 
on pretence of acting as a guard, but, in reality, to fall 
upon the rear of the army, poured into the great square. 
At a given signal from Cortez, a horrible massacre was 
commenced, which continued for two days. The Tlasca- 
lans of the party, reinforced by multitudes from their own 
town, who came at the first news of the attack, ravaged 
and plundered the city with unrestrained barbarity. Cor- 
tez at last checked these outrages, and compelling such of 
the plunder and prisoners as he could discover to be deliv- 
ered up, proclaimed peace and general amnesty. He set 
free the unfortunate prisoners, who were confined in cages 
to be fattened for sacrifice, and vainly endeavored to con- 
vince the priests and people of the enormity of their reli- 
gious rites and the truth of his own doctrines. 

Cholula was one of the most noted cities of Mexico, 
both for its beauty of situation and structure, and its posi- 
tion as the head-quarters of the religion of the country. 
The immense hill or temple of sacrifice has ever been the 
subject of admiration and astonishment to all beholders. 

Montezuma dared no longer openly oppose the advance 
of the Spaniards. The terror of their arms and the gloomy 
prognostications of the priests cowed and subdued his 
spirit, and he sent messengers with gifts and invitations 
to Cortez to visit his court. The general impression con- 
stantly gained ground among the Mexicans that these 
white men must be "Teules," or supernatural beings, 
against whom it were hopeless openly to contend. 

Fourteen days after the arrival at Cholula, the army 
was again put in motion. The Zempoalans were dis- 
missed at their own request, and their places were supplied 
by Tlascalans, who were ready by thousands to share the 
clanger and profit of the expedition. On the march over 
the rough mountainous district through which lay their 
path, strong bodies of Mexicans had been placed in am- 
6 



82 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



bush by the order of the king, but their hearts failed them 
on the approach of the invaders. Cortez reached Chalco, 
near the imperial city, not only without serious opposition, 
but with his forces increased by as many natives of the 
provinces through which he passed, as he chose to enlist 
under his banners. Enchantments and conjurations, to 
which Montezuma applied himself, with his whole corps 
of magicians, proved as ineffectual as his armies to arrest 
the enemy. It was still his purpose and hope, as the in- 
vaders well knew, to overwhelm and destroy them at a 
disadvantage, when they should enter his city. 

The Spaniards reached Iztapalapa, on the great lake in 
which the city of Mexico was built, without further blood- 
shed, except the destruction of a few poor Indians who 
approached "too near " the encampment at Amemeca, prob- 
ably from motives of curiosity. The lord of Tezcuco, upon 
the north-eastern border of the lake, a nephew of the em- 
peror, visited them on their route with solemn ceremony. 

Iztapalapa was built partly in the lake, although the 
receding waters have left the site mostly dry. The appear- 
ance of the place was truly Yenetian. Over the broad 
expanse of water were seen the towers and buildings of 
numerous towns, at beholding which, together with the 
great causey which led to the island city, the Europeans, 
in the words of Diaz, "could compare it to nothing but 
the enchanted scenes read of in Amadis of Graul, from the 
great towers and temples and other edifices of lime and 
stone which seemed to rise out of the water." "Never 
yet," he adds, "did man see, hear, or dream of anything j 
equal to the spectacle which appeared to our eyes on 
this day." 

The lords of the city assigned splendid buildings of 
stone for the troops to quarter in; and such was their 
astonishment at the perfection of the architectural skill dis- 
played in the palaces ; the beauty of the gardens ; the alleys 



ABOEIGINES OF MEXICO. 



83 



of fruit and aromatic trees; the fountains, aqueducts, and 
artificial pools ; and the vast concourse of curious natives, 
crowding the street and causey to gaze on the novel 
sight, or skimming the water in their light canoes, that 
"to many it appeared doubtful whether they were asleep 
or awake." 

On the morning of the 8th of November, 1519, Cor- 
tez led his followers over the main causey into the impe- 
rial city. A great deputation of nobles and officers came 
out to meet him, and escorted the army into the city. The 
streets were empty, that the ceremony of the royal audience 
might not be impeded; but windows and balconies were 
thronged with eager spectators. 

Montezuma now appeared, borne in a glittering palan- 
quin, and accompanied by his chief officers, magnificently 
adorned, and displaying in their downcast looks and silent 
obsequiousness the reverence in which they held their 
monarch. As he dismounted and walked to meet Cortez, 
leaning on his relatives, the lords of Tezcuco and Iztapa- 
lapa, attendants spread carpets before him. 

With unheard-of condescension and expression of respect, 
the king saluted the Spanish commander in Mexican style, 
stooping and touching the ground with his hand, and then 
raising it to his lips. He wore a robe of fine cotton, 
adorned with gems, golden sandals, and a light crown of 
gold supporting the ornamental circle of plumes, esteemed 
the most graceful head-dress. He was about forty years 
of age, of light complexion, and of majestic aspect and 
demeanor. 

Cortez advanced, and placing a showy necklace round the 
monarch's neck, would have embraced him, but was gently 
restrained by the attendant lords— such familiarity being 
deemed unsuitable to their sovereign's greatness. 

After mutual friendly speeches, the whole throng pro- 
ceeded to the palaces set apart for the Spaniards' use, and 



84 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Montezuma, leading Cortez by the hand, conducted him 
to his apartment, and placed about his neck a golden collar. 

During the week succeeding the entry into Mexico, cere- 
monious visits were interchanged by Cortez and the em- 
peror. The Mexican prince conducted his guests through 
the royal palaces and gardens, and, in their company, 
visited the great temple of sacrifice. The historians of 
that day can find no language strong enough to express 
the wonder and admiration which the magnificent spec- 
tacle excited in the minds of the Spanish beholders. The 
pomp and state of the monarch ; his crowd of obsequious 
attendants ; his pleasure houses, aqueducts, fountains, and 
gardens of odoriferous shrubs ; the extent of his wealth 
in jewels and the precious metals; his store of arms, and 
the number of his skilful artisans, are described and en- 
larged upon at great length. 

It remains to this day a matter of astonishment that 
such huge buildings of hewn stone, as every where met 
the eye in the ancient city, could have been erected with- 
out the use of iron. Copper, hardened by an alloy of tin, 
was the only metal of which the tools were made by which 
the hard rock was laboriously shaped. 

The indignation and horror excited by the bloody 
religious rites of the country, led Cortez to strive contin- 
ually to impress upon the mind of his host the folly and 
absurdity of his religion. The only good effect that is 
said to have resulted from these arguments was the aban- 
donment, on the part of the king, of the custom of hav- 
ing human flesh set upon his own table. 

The principal temple is minutely described, and must, 
indeed, have presented a singular scene of horror and 
magnificence. It was surrounded by a wall, faced with 
wreathed serpents, carved in stone, the gateways to which 
were surmounted with statues. The roof of the main 
building was flat, and paved with beautifully polished 



AB0EIG1NES OF MEXICO. 



85 



stones; and thereon appeared two hideous idols, seated 
upon thrones of state in all the splendor of barbaric orna- 
ment; while before them stood the terrible stone of sacri- 
fice. This was a green mass of rock, five spans high, 
presenting a sharp angle at the top, over which the miser- 
able victims were stretched, while the priest gashed open 
the living body with a rude knife of flint, and tore out 
the palpitating heart. "I devoted them and all their 
wickedness," says Diaz, "to God's vengeance, and thought 
that the time would never arrive that I should escape 
from this scene of human butchery, horrible smells, and 
more detestable sights." He tells of an apartment filled 
with wild animals and venomous reptiles, who were fed 
with the sacrificial flesh. Of these, the most dangerous ser- 
pents had "in their tails somewhat that sounds like casti- 
nets." — "These beasts and horrid reptiles were retained to 
keep company with their infernal Gods, and when these 
animals yelled and hissed, the palace seemed like hell 
itself," From this elevation, a beautiful view was ob- 
tained of the whole of the great salt lake in which the 
city stood, the towns of the vicinity, the long and well- 
built causeys connecting them, and the magnificent moun- 
tains beyond. 

It would be tedious to relate the ceremonies of the royal 
court, although many of them are singular, and well 
worth the examination of those who would obtain a com- 
plete knowledge of a time and people varying so widely 
from any thing now known on earth. Among Monte- 
zuma's means of luxury or relaxation were the habits of 
smoking tobacco, drinking a fermented liquor of no little 
potency, and listening to the remarks of a set c\f buffoons 
whom he kept about him, in the same capacity as that of 
the court-fools of a past age in Europe. 

An analogy to rites and customs of the Old World, 
no less striking, was noticed in many of the popular 



86 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



religious observances. "It should seem that the Devil," 
as De Solis has it, "the Inventor of these Eites, was 
ambitious to imitate Baptism and Circumcision, with 
the same pride with which he endeavored to counterfeit 
the other Ceremonies, and even the Sacraments of the 
Catholic Church; since he introduced among these Barbar- 
ians the Confession of Sins, giving them to understand 
that thereby they obtained the Favor of their Gods. He 
instituted likewise a ridiculous sort of Communion, which 
the Priests administered upon certain Days in the Year, 
dividing into small Bits an Idol made of Flower, mix'd 
up into a Past with honey, which they called the God of 
Penitence."— "Nay, they even gave their chief Priests the 
title of Papas in their Language; by which we find that 
this Imitation cost Satan a very particular study and 
application." 

Marriages were performed by the priest's tying the 
veil of the woman to a portion of the man's dress, after 
certain prescribed preliminaries. In this guise the pair 
walked home together, and concluded the ceremony by 
pacing seven times round the domestic hearth. Divorces 
were at the discretion of the parties, and when they took 
place, the sons belonged to the man, the daughters to the 
woman. Hasty separations were guarded against by a 
provision that, should they again cohabit after having 
once broken the bond of union, both should be put to 
death. In some instances, on the death of the husband, 
his wife would immolate herself, according to the custom, 
until recently, so prevalent in India. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



87 



CHAPTER V. 

SEIZURE AND IMPRISONMENT OF MONTEZUMA EXECUTION OF 
QUALPOPOCA AND HIS COMPANIONS— OMINOUS PROSPECTS- 
EXPEDITION OF PAMPHILO DE NARVAEZ— SUCCESS OF 
CORTEZ AGAINST HIM— RETURN TO MEXICO— OUTRAGE 

BY ALVARADO, AND CONSEQUENT TROUBLES DEATH 

OF MONTEZUMA— THE "NOCHE TRISTE "—BATTLE 
OF OBTUMBA, AND ARRIVAL AT TLASCALA. 

"And sounds that mingled laugh— and shout— and scream- 
To freeze the blood in one discordant jar, 
Rung to the pealing thunderbolts of war." 

Campbell. 

Cortez was not yet satisfied; he felt Ms situation to be 
precarious, and that his object would not be fully accom- 
plished until he had acquired complete mastery over the 
inhabitants of the imperial city. While he was on his 
march to Mexico, Juan de Escalente, commander of the 
garrison left at Vera Cruz, had, with six other Spaniards, 
perished in a broil with the natives. One soldier was 
taken prisoner, but dying of his wounds, his captors car- 
ried his head to Montezuma. The trophy proved an ob- 
ject of terror to the king, who trembled as he looked on 
the marks of manly strength which its contour and thick 
curled beard betokened, and ordered it from his presence. 

Cortez knew of these events when at Cholula, but had 
kept them concealed from most of Ms people. He now 
adduced them, in select council of his officers, as reason— 
with other matters— for the bold step he purposed. This 
was to seize the person of Montezuma. 

On the eighth day after the arrival at the city, Cortez 
took with him Alvarado, Velasquez de Leon, Avila, San- 
doval, and Francisco de Lujo, and, ordering a number of 
his soldiers to keep in his vicinity, proceeded to the royal 



83 



INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 



palace. He conversed with Montezuma concerning the 
attack on the garrison at the coast, and professed belief in 
the Mexican prince's asseverations that he had no part in 
it; but added that, to quiet all suspicion on the part 
of the great emperor of the East, it would be best for 
him to remove to the Spanish quarters! Montezuma saw 
at once the degradation to which he was called upon to 
submit, but looking on the fierce Spaniards around him, 
and hearing an interpretation of their threats to dispatch 
him immediately if he did not comply, he suffered himself 
to be conducted to the palace occupied by his false friends. 

To hide his disgrace from his subjects, the unhappy 
monarch assured the astonished concourse in the streets 
that he went of his own free will. Cortez, while he kept 
his prisoner secure by a constant and vigilant guard, 
allowed him to preserve all the outward tokens of royalty' 
Meanwhile, Qualpopoca, the governor of the district 
where Juan de Escalente lost his life, was sent for, to- 
gether with his associate officers. When they arrived, 
Cortez was allowed by Montezuma to punish them at his 
own discretion, and the inhuman monster caused them to 
be burned alive in the sight of the populace. The fuel 
used for this purpose consisted of the royal stores of arrows, 
darts, and other warlike implements. Still further to quell 
the spirit of the king, fetters were placed upon his ankles 
during the execution of this cruel sentence. 

The people of Mexico could not be blinded to the true 
position of their sovereign, and it was not long before 
ominous signs appeared of a general determination to 
avenge his wrongs, and vindicate the insulted honor of the 
nation. The young lord of the ancient and powerful city 
of Tezcuco was foremost in arousing this spirit of resist- 
ance, but by artifice and treachery he fell into the hands 
of the Spaniards, and his brother was proclaimed gov- 
ernor in his stead. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



89 



The king was brought so low as to consent to acknowledge 
himself a subject of the Spanish emperor; and he deliv- 
ered up to Cortez treasures of gold and silver to the amount, 
according to computation, of more than six millions of 
dollars, as a present to his new sovereign. But a small 
portion of this wealth was reserved to be sent to Spain; 
the rest was divided among the conquerors, the chiefs and 
officers appropriating the lion's share. 

The next movement was to establish the Christian cere- 
monies of worship upon the very site so long venerated 
as the palace of the great god of war, After strong oppo- 
sition, a portion of the area on the summit of the chief 
temple was set apart for the Spaniards' use in the solem- 
nities of their religion, while the blood-stained idol and 
the stone of sacrifice maintained their old position. 

At these sacrilegious innovations the whole populace 
became more and more exasperated. Montezuma warned 
his oppressors of the storm that would break upon them, 
declaring that if he should but give the sign, his whole 
people would rise as one man to release him and destroy 
the hated whites. The unfortunate monarch seems to 
have been distracted and overcome by emotions of the 
most conflicting nature. For some of the Spanish officers 
he had contracted no small degree of personal attachment, 
while he must have felt continually galled by the restraint 
placed upon his person, and by the consciousness that he 
was now but a tool in the hands of the proud invaders of 
his dominions. The mildness and dignity of his demeanor 
excited sympathy and respect from his jailors, and Cortez 
exacted the utmost deference and respect towards his cap- 
tive from all around him. 

The prudent general saw the necessity for every precau- 
tion against an attack from the natives, and, to guard 
against his retreat being cut off, on such a contingency, 
had two vessels built and furnished from the stores saved 



90 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



from the dismantled fleet. Living upon an island, it was 
in the power of the natives at any time to destroy the 
bridges and causeys, by which alone there was communi- 
cation with the main. 

At this crisis, when all his energies were required to 
resist the fury of an outraged multitude of barbarians 
around him, Cortez heard of danger from another source, 
which moved him more deeply than any hostilities on the 
part of the Mexicans. 

The jealous Cuban governor, Velasquez, enraged at his 
presumption in throwing off the authority under which he 
had sailed, fitted out a formidable armament to overthrow 
the newly-acquired power of Cortez. The fleet under the 
command of Pamphilo de Narvaez reached the Mexican 
coast, and news of its arrival were conveyed to Cortez in 
the month of May, 1520. 

. Witn nis usual decision and promptness, the general 
divided his forces, and leaving the larger portion under 
Alvarado to maintain possession of the capital, he marched 
to check the advance of Narvaez. By the boldness of a 
night attack, followed up by the most consummate policy 
in winning over the good wishes, and exciting the cupidity 
of the newly-arrived army, he converted his enemies to 
friends, and, placing the leader in confinement, hastened 
back to the city with his powerful auxiliaries. His return 
was timely indeed. Alvarado had been guilty of an act 
of barbarity, (whether caused by avarice, by a supposed 
necessity, or by a desire to ape the valiant achievements 
of his master, cannot now be ascertained,) which had 
brought down upon him and his garrison the fury and 
indignation of the whole Aztec nation. 

Upon an occasion of great public ceremonials at the 
Teocalli, or temple, at which were gathered a great con- 
course of the nobility and chiefs, the Spaniards, placing 
a guard at the gates of the outer wall, mingled with the 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



91 



unarmed company, and, at an appointed sign, fell upon 
and murdered every Mexican present. 

A general rush upon the Spanish quarters, which fol- 
lowed this event, wa3 only checked by the appearance of 
Montezuma himself upon one of the towers of the build- 
ing, who, knowing doubtless that his own life could scarcely 
be preserved in such a melee, requested his subjects to for- 
bear. They therefore contented themselves with besieging 
the garrison, and cutting off supplies of food and whole- 
some water. 

It was on St. John's day in the month of June, that 
Cortez reentered the city. The streets were silent and 
deserted, and with doubt and apprehension he proceeded 
to the Spanish palace. The soldiers of the garrison were 
overjoyed at the sight of the recruits, and received their 
brethren with open arms. Cortez saw the folly of Alva- 
rado's conduct, and in his first mood of indignation and 
petulance, at the probable frustration of his plans, he 
indulged in contemptuous treatment of his royal captive. 

The state of ominous silence observed in the city did 
not continue long. News came in that the Indians were 
destroying the bridges; and a body of four hundred men, 
under De Ordas, who were sent out to reconnoitre, were 
driven back, with a loss of twenty-three of their number. 
Such crowds of natives poured forth from their places of 
concealment, that the streets were choked with the living 
mass, while from balcony and roof-tops, a storm of weap- 
ons and missiles of every description rained upon the 
heads of the Spanish troops. 

Surrounding the quarters of the Spaniards, and using 
every endeavor to burn the wooden portion of the build- 
ings, the wild horde of enraged Mexicans continued the 
assault, with desperate fury, till nightfall. 

Cortez attempted a sally with the first dawn of the fol- 
lowing day, but he soon found that he had an enemy to 



02 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



encounter of far different spirit from those who had here- 
tofore opposed him. Diaz says, "If we had been ten 
thousand Hectors of Troy, and as many Koldans, we 
could not have beaten them off.— Some of our soldiers 
who had been in Italy, swore that neither among Chris- 
tians nor Turks had they ever seen such desperation as 
was manifested in the attacks of those Indians." The 
artillery in va in swe pt them down, for thousands were 
ready to rush over the fallen bodies of their comrades, 
and continue the battle with augmented fierceness. The 
Spaniards were finally forced to retreat. Various expe- 
dients were tried by the indefatigable Spanish general to 
quell the insurrection, and to dislodge the assailants, who 
shot their weapons from every high building in the vicin- 
ity of the garrison. Moving towers of wood were con- 
structed, to be drawn through the street by companies of 
Tlascalans, while Spanish warriors from the interior dis- 
charged volleys of musquetry upon the Indians. Many 
hundred houses were destroyed by fire, but, being princi- 
pally of stone, no general conflagration ensued. 

As a last resort, the great king himself, decked in his 
robes of state, was taken to the tower from which he had 
before succeeded in quieting the angry populace. The 
multitude listened with deferential awe, but when they 
heard again the palpable falsehood that he staid among 
the Spaniards by his own free will, reverence gave way 
to contempt and indignation. Eevilings and reproaches 
were followed by a shower of stones and arrows. The 
attendant soldiers in vain interposed their shields to pro- 
tect the emperor: he fell, severely wounded upon the head 
by a stone. The crowd now retired, appalled at the sacri- 
lege that they had committed. But the work was done: 
the miserable Montezuma, overcome with rage, mortifica- 
tion, and despair, would accept of no assistance, either 
surgical or spiritual from the Spaniards. In three days, 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



93 



says de Solis, "lie surrendered up to the Devil the eter- 
nal Possession of his Soul, employing the latest moments 
of his Breath in impious Thoughts of sacrificing his Ene- 
mies to his Fury and Kevenge." 

For the particulars of the various sorties; the ceaseless 
fio-hting; and, above all, the terrible scene at the storming 
of the holy temple, the reader must refer to more exten- 
sive treatises than this; suffice it that, weakened by con- 
tinual fatigue, and day by day less able to resist the as- 
saults of the enemy, the Spaniards finally concluded to 
evacuate the city. One Botello, a soldier who was reputed 
a necromancer, as he "spoke Latin, and had been at 
Borne," announced a certain night as the only time when 
the army could escape utter destruction. 

Cortez, whether moved by superstition or aware of its 
influence with the army, and hopeless of longer maintain- 
ing a hold on the capital under existing circumstances, 
made preparations to march. He attempted to blind his 
proceedings by pretended treaties with the Mexicans, pro- 
posing to evacuate the city peaceably within eight days, 
while, at the same time, he was ordering every thing for 
an instantaneous departure. A portable bridge was pre- 
pared to afford the means for crossing the gaps m the 
causey made by the enemy. 

On the night of the first of July, (1520), the general 
brought out the immense treasures of gold stored in his 
chamber, and, having separated the portion allotted to the 
crown, told the soldiery to take what they would, but 
cautioned them against encumbering themselves. 

It was near midnight, and dark and rainy, when the 
troops were put in motion. They were in the act of pass- 
ing the first breach, over the portable bridge, when the 
alarm was given that the "Teules were going, and the 
cry of "Taltelulco, Taltelulco, (out with your canoes) 
resounded over the water. The Spaniards were doomed 



94 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

to greater disaster and misery on this night, known as the 
"noche triste," or night of sorrow, than they had ever yet 
experienced. An innumerable horde of dusky figures 
beset the causey, and attacked the fugitives in front, flank 
and rear. 

By a complication of misfortune, the bridge broke, and 
from the struggling mass of men and horses, the few who 
could obtain footing on the cfausey were mostly killed, or 
their cries for help were heard by their companions as 
they were borne off in the canoes of the enemy, doomed 
victims for sacrifice. The cavalry, who were in advance, 
hastened forward, hopeless of relieving those whose re- 
treat had been cut off, and who were blindly contending 
in the darkness with the fierce and enraged Aztecs. 

Alvarado, dismounted and wounded, came up with the 
advance, on foot, accompanied by three soldiers and eight 
Tlascalans. He reported the destruction of the rear-guard, 
together with their leader, Velasquez de Leon. According 
to some accounts, Alvarado had made his escape by an 
extraordinary leap over the gap, but Diaz denies the pos- 
sibility of the act. 

The wearied and disabled remnant of the proud army 
of Cortez pursued their route towards the friendly district 
of Tlascala, followed by detached companies of Mexicans, 
who attacked the fugitives in the rear, and, with insulting 
shouts, bade them hasten to the doom that awaited them! 

Near a place called Obtumba, the Indians were found 
arrayed upon a plain in countless hosts, to obstruct the 
march, and finish the work so successfully commenced on 
the night of the retreat. There was no way to avoid a 
general engagement, and every Spaniard nerved himself 
for the desperate struggle. We quote from Bernal Diaz— 
"Oh what it was to see this tremendous battle! how we 
closed foot to foot, and with what fury the dogs fought 
us! such wounding as there was amongst us with their 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



95 



lances and clubs, and two-lianded swords, while our cav- 
j airy, favoured by the plain ground, rode through them at 
w ill. Then, to hear the valiant Sandoval how he encour- 
aged us, crying out, 'Now, gentlemen, is the day of vic- 
tory; put your trust in God, we shall survive, for he 
preserves us for some good purpose.' " 

The royal standard was taken, its bearer being slain, and 
the whole multitude were put to flight, and hewn down 
by hundreds in their retreat. The Spaniards pushed on 
to Tlascala, not without misgivings as to the reception 
they should meet with in their present crippled and suf- 
fering condition. These fears proved groundless: the 
friendly Tlascalans embraced them affectionately; wept 
over their loss; and gently rebuked them for trusting the 
treacherous Mexicans. 

During the "noche triste," and upon the march to Tlas- 
cala, eight hundred and seventy Spaniards are recorded to 
have perished in battle, or to have been doomed, as pris- 
oners, to a far more terrible fate. Of their Tlascalan allies 
more than a thousand were slain. Only four hundred and 
forty of the Spanish troops reached Tlascala, and these 
were many of them wounded and disabled, and were ill 
supplied with arms. Some accounts state that the Mexi- 
can army, at Obtumba, numbered two hundred thousand 
men, and that twenty thousand of these fell in the engage- 
ment or were slaughtered in their tumultuous retreat. 



96 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE ATTACK ON THE CITY OF MEXICO 

BUILDING AND TRANSPORTATION OF BRIGANTINES SIEGE 

LAID TO THE CITY ASSAULT BY THE SPANIARDS, 

AND THEIR REPULSE SACRIFICE OF PRISON- 

ERS— CAPTURE OF GUATIMOZIN, AND 
CONQUEST OF THE CAPITAL. 

And Aztec priests, upon their teocallis, 

Beat the wild war-drum, made of serpents' skin." 

Longfellow. 

On the death of Montezuma, his brother Cuitlahua, 
governor of Iztapalapa, had taken the supreme command 
over -the Aztecs. He had been prime mover in the revolt 
which resulted in the expulsion of the Spaniards from the 
city, and it was by his orders that their flight had been 
so fiercely followed up. At the present juncture, he sent 
heralds to propose a treaty of peace with the friendly tribe 
by whose hospitality the Spanish army was now supported, 
proposing the destruction of the whites, who had brought 
such woes upon the whole country. A portion of the 
Tlascalan assembly looked approvingly upon the sugges- 
tion, but the older and wiser members, reflecting upon the 
known treachery of the Mexicans, and their former acts 
of oppression, refused to listen to it. 

Cortez, perceiving discontent to be rife among his men, 
determined not to remain idle, but to keep their attention 
constantly employed. Some, who were pining for ease and 
quiet, he allowed to take ship for Cuba, while by every 
argument he appealed to the honor and valor of his veter- 
ans, urging them not to desist at the first failure, but to 
stand by their general and reinstate their fallen fortunes. 
He engaged in bloody conflicts with Mexican tribes on 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



97 



either side of Tlascala, with the most distinguished suc- 
sess; and taking possession of the town of Tepeaca, a few 
leagues distant, established his head-quarters there. 

By singular good fortune, several ships, bringing fresh 
troops to support Narvaez, arrived from Cuba, and the 
adventurers, learning the true position of affairs, readily 
joined the popular leader. Another expedition, sent by 
the governor of Jamaica to form a settlement farther up 
the coast, only contributed to swell the resources of Cor- 
tez; those engaged in the undertaking deeming it more 
profitable to unite with the followers of so renowned a 
general, than to undergo the dangers and hardship of estab- 
lishing themselves unassisted among hostile savages. 

Cortez determined to make every preparation for a 
renewed attack upon the city of Mexico. Returning to 
Tlascala, he set himself to equip and furnish his troops, 
and to train the Indian allies in the art of war. Gunpow- 
der was manufactured; the sulphur being procured from 
the neighboring volcano of Popocatapetl. The most im- 
portant part of his schemes, however, was the building a 
number of small vessels, or brigantines, by means of which 
his troops could be made independent of the narrow and 
dangerous causeys. These vessels he ordered to be made 
in separate pieces, of such a size that they could be trans- 
ported over the mountains by the Indian carriers: the 
stores and rigging were brought from the coast by the 
same means of conveyance. 

On the 28th of December Cortez led his army forth 
from Tlascala. The Spanish force was less than that with 
which the first invasion was undertaken, but was superior 
in martial equipments. The whole army consisted of 
about six hundred whites, and ten thousand, or upwards, 
of Tlascalans. They marched direct for Tezcuco, on the 
great lake of Mexico. No opposition was made during 
the march, and the city was yielded to them without a 
7 



98 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



struggle, nearly all the inhabitants deserting it in their 
boats. Here it was determined to await the completion 
and arrival of the brigantines. 

While all these formidable preparations were going on, 
important changes had taken place in the Aztec monarchy. 
Cuitlahua, or Quetlavaca, had perished by that terrible 
scourge the small-pox, which was introduced from the old 
country by one of ISTarvaez's ships, and which spread over 
all Mexico, carrying off thousands of the natives. The 
new emperor Guatimozin, a brave and noble youth, was 
nephew and successor to Montezuma. The beauty and 
gallant bearing of this prince excited the admiration of 
all beholders ; while his intelligence and valor, combined 
with the hatred which he bore towards the whites, made 
him an enemy to be dreaded. He had devoted his whole 
attention, since his accession, to fortifying and defending 
his capital. The unserviceable inhabitants were sent into 
the country, while warriors from all sides were called to 
rally round the Aztec banner within the city. 

The remainder of the winter and the early months of 
spring were occupied by the Spaniards in sallies against 
neighboring towns and districts ; the reduction of the dis- 
affected; the conciliation of those inclined to cooperate 
with the besiegers ; and, above all, the completion and trans- 
portation of the vessels. We must pass over the skir- 
mishes and battles which occurred during this period. It 
would be little more than a repetition of scenes of cruelty, 
horror, and bloodshed. The spirit of the Aztecs was 
unsubdued, and their new emperor haughtily refused to 
listen to any terms of treaty, although Cortez commissioned 
sundry prisoners of rank to endeavor to move him. Suc- 
cess in occupying many strong and populous towns, together 
with the arrival of fresh recruits, served to encourage the 
Spaniards in the hopes of final triumph. Thousands of 
natives were employed in digging a canal by which the 



ABOKIGINHS OF MEXICO. 



99 



little fleet should be launched. The beams and planks of 
the vessels ready to be joined, with all the paraphernalia 
of nautical outfit, were carried in state by an immense con- 
course of Tlascalans, charged with the burthen, or acting 
as a guard of protection. Diaz says that no less than 
eight thousand men served in each of these capacities, 
while two thousand more followed with provisions. About 
the last of April (1521) the thirteen brigantines, fitted for 
service, were launched into the canal. 

The addition of an armed flotilla, which, urged by wind 
and oars, could bear down upon and scatter the frail canoes 
of the natives, proved of incalculable advantage. The 
size of the vessels, the 'thunder of their cannons, their 
speed, and the skill with which they were managed and 
controlled, must have filled the Mexicans with amazement. 

Near the end of May a regular system of siege was en- 
tered upon, by the occupation of the three great approaches 
to the city. The inhabitants were unwearied in their 
attacks, and a degree of vigilance and courage on the part 
of the Spaniards, scarce equalled in any age or country, 
only preserved them from utter destruction. " For ninety- 
three days together," says Diaz, "we were employed in the 
siege of this great and strong city, and every day and 
every night we were engaged with the enemy. — Were I 
to extend my narrative to every action which took place, 
it would be almost endless, and my history would resem- 
ble that of Amadis and the other books of chivalry." 

Every expedient, of chiving sunken palisades to entan- 
gle the vessels ; of pit-falls for the cavalry ; and of cutting 
gaps in the causeys, was resorted to by the besieged, and 
persevered in with a determination and obstinacy only 
rivalled by the stern temper of the obdurate invaders. 

There was necessarily great suffering on both sides, 
exclusive of the horrors of actual warfare, from the scar- 
city of provision. Maize was the principal resort; but 



L 



100 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



the hordes of Indian allies sustained existence by a more 
foul repast, feeding upon the bodies that were every where 
scattered over the causeys, or floating in the lake — ghastly 
memorials of each day's slaughter. Knowing the insuffi- 
ciency of their own supplies, the Spaniards dared not for- 
bid this practice. 

Cortez at last determined upon an assault from three 
different quarters, with his whole force. Fierce battles 
had already been fought within the city walls ; the great 
Teocalli had been a second time carried by storm, and its 
officiating priests thrown from its summit; the royal 
palace, with its adjoining buildings, and the old fortress 
where the Spaniards had formerly quartered, had been 
destroyed ; but no general assault had been made. After 
some discussion, in which the hazard of risking so much 
upon a single onslaught was fully discussed, the general 
determined to undertake it, and issued his orders for a 
simultaneous advance — the march over the causeys to be 
protected by the cooperation of the brigantines. 

The three divisions under Cortez, Alvarado, and San- 
doval, were put in motion on the ensuing morning. Or- 
ders were given that each party should secure a safe 
retreat by thoroughly filling up all gaps in the causeys as 
they made their way towards the heart of the city. Neglect 
of this prudent arrangement proved most disastrous. An 
advanced force, under Alderete, encouraged by the little 
show of resistance, pressed on nearly to the great square, 
leaving behind them a breach in the causey, (through 
which the water from the canal on either side was flowing 
to a depth of two fathoms) with very slight and inefficient 
means for recrossing. As Cortez came up to this spot, he 
began to suspect that his men were entrapped; he saw 
that the causey had been narrowed, and at once perceived 
the terrible confusion that must ensue, in case of precipi- 
tate retreat. While endeavoring to atone for this careless- 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



101 



ness by filling the dike, Cortez and his followers heard 
the blast of the horn of the Aztec emperor, Guatimozin, 
followed by a deafening yell from his enraged warriors, 
and shortly after, Alderete's party were seen crowding the 
causey in their flight from an overwhelming mass of the 
natives. At the gap a scene of terrible slaughter ensued. 
Men and horses, floundering in the deep mud to which 
the way was reduced; thrust into the water by the pres- 
sure of their own numbers, and seized by the enemy, 
whose canoes filled the canals, presented a miserable scene 
of hopeless disorder. Cortez himself was nearly borne 
away captive, in his endeavors to rescue the drowning 
sufferers from the dike. Six stout warriors laid hold of 
him, and would have secured him as a notable offering 
to their idols, but for the self-sacrificing devotion of his 
officers and men. His whole surviving party were obliged 
to retreat, making their way back to the camp under the 
protecting fire of the brigantines. 

The division under Alvarado was also driven from the 
city, after having made some hopeful advance, driving in 
their first opponents. The second body of natives who 
stopped their progress, threw down five Spanish heads, 
saying that they were those of Cortez and his officers. In 
the retreat the great drum was heard sounding from the 
* summit of the principal teocalli: "Its mournful noise was 
such as may be imagined the music of the infernal gods, 
and it might be heard at the distance of almost three 
leagues." Diaz, who gives this description, says that the 
enemy were then sacrificing ten of the Spaniards' hearts 
to their gods. This was just before the blast of the royal 

horn a signal which roused the Aztecs to an indescriba 

ble pitch of fury and courage. 

Sandoval fared little better than the rest, and the Span- 
ish army, completely foiled, returned to the several en- 
campments, frightfully reduced in numbers, deprived of 



102 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



many of their invaluable horses, and, above all, dispirited 
by the thought that sixty or more of their brethren were 
alive in the hands of the enemy, destined victims at their 
infernal orgies. 

As night approached, the booming of the great drum 
on the temple aroused the attention of the Spaniards, and, 
looking towards the city, they could distinctly perceive 
several of their unfortunate companions led up for sacri- 
fice, decked out in gaudy plumes and coronals. A strong 
light thrown by the fires on the platform upon their white 
and naked bodies made the sickening sight too palpably 
distinct, while the shrieks of the victims rose above even 
the rude din of barbarous music and exultant shouts. 
The ceremony was followed by a furious attack upon the 
Spanish camps. 

Not even scenes like this could shake the indomitable 
resolution of these men of iron. They continued to 
occupy the three causeys by which alone the city could 
be approached, except in boats, and using every endeavor 
to cut off supplies of provisions, made a steady and en- 
trenched advance upon the capital. For ten successive 
nights they witnessed the butchery of the Spanish prison- 
ers upon the green stone of sacrifice, without the power 
to render them the least assistance. As their hearts were 
torn out and burned before the idol, the priests drew the 
mangled remains down the stone steps. — Some of the In- 
dians, mid their taunts and revilings, averred that the 
Spanish flesh was "too bitter to be eaten; and truly, 
it seems that such a miracle was wrought." "Let the 
reader think," says the old chronicler, Diaz, "what were 
our sensations on this occasion. Oh heavenly God ! said 
we to ourselves, do not suffer us to be sacrificed by these 
wretches.'" 

To add to the Spaniards' distress, the great body of their 
Indian allies deserted them at this crisis. They had be- 



ABOEIGINES OF MEXICO. 



103 



gun to lose their confidence in the invincibility of the 
whites; and the prediction of the Mexican priests, that 
within 'eight days the besiegers should be destroyed, had 
its effect upon their superstitious minds. Ixtilxochitl, the 
Tezcucan chief, who had been raised by Cortez to the 
government of the city on its abdication by his enemies, 
remained faithful. 

When the eight days were passed, these fickle allies began 
to return, with fresh confidence, to the assistance of the 
besiegers. With determined energy the Spaniards forced 
their passage, foot by foot, towards the centre of the cap- 
ital. Securing their way behind them, and demolishing 
the buildings as they proceeded, they more than recovered 
from their grand reverse. The miserable inhabitants were 
reduced to the utmost extremity by famine. Crowded 
together in the quarter of the city to which they were 
driven, they perished by thousands, but nothing seemed 
to tame their fierce and unyielding spirit. Guatimozin 
refused to listen to terms, although Cortez repeatedly sent 
embassies of prisoners, proposing a peaceable cession of 
the place. Stores and men were added to the Spanish 
resources, by the arrival at Villa Rica of a vessel belong- 
ing to a fleet fitted out by De Aillon, which was mostly 
destroyed on the reefs of Florida. 

After the three divisions of the army had worked their 
way completely through the city, and Gruatimozin and his 
people were confined in a limited district on the lake, the 
fury of their sallies seemed undiminished. When they 
were finally unable longer to keep their monarch in safety, 
a last attempt was made to effect an escape in the pira- 
guas or large canoes. 

The brigantines were immediately dispatched to inter 
cept and destroy the flotilla which now spotted the lake 
The natives fought desperately, as usual, attacking the 
armed vessels of the Spaniards, regardless of the destruc- 



1^4 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

tion occasioned by the artillery. Sandoval, who com- 
manded in this service, despatched Garcia Holguin, with 
the swiftest of the brigantines, to the spot where the em- 
peror would probably steer, with orders to take him pris- 
oner alive, if possible. 

The attempt was successful, and the royal barge was 
taken, containing Guatimozin, his beautiful wife, (a daugh- 
ter or niece of Montezuma) and his chief followers. Being 
brought before Cortez, the king addressed his conqueror 
in terms of proud but despairing submission, bidding him 
draw his poinard, and put an end to the life of anion- 
arch who had striven to the last for his people, but in 
vain. Cortez endeavored to reassure him bv caresses and 
kind words, ordering the queen and attendants to be 
treated with courtesy and respect. ■ 

While this scene was enacting, and during the previous 
day, a work of such fearful carnage had been going on 
in the Mexican quarters as no pen can describe. Xo 
one can presume to enumerate those who fell. Diaz j 
reports as follows : "What I am going to mention is truth, 
and I swear and say amen to it. I have read of the de- I 
struction of Jerusalem, but I cannot conceive that the 
mortality there exceeded this of Mexico; for all the peo- 
ple from the distant provinces which belonged to this 
empire, had concentrated themselves here, where they 
mostly died. The streets, the squares, the houses, and 
the courts of the Taltelulco, (where the Mexicans ' were 
last entrenched) were covered with dead bodies; we could 
not step without treading on them; the lake and canals | 
were filled with them, and the stench was intolerable." 

It is due to the Spanish general to say that he endeav- 
ored repeatedly to stay this butchery, but his Indian allies 
could not be restrained, now that an opportunity was pre- 
sented for safely wreaking their vengeance on "their her- 
editary foes. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



105 



The capture of Guatimozin, which consummated the 
1 1 conquest of the city, took place on the thirteenth of Au- 
! gust, 1521. All contention immediately ceased when this 
was accomplished. Diaz says: "We felt like so many 
men just escaped from a steeple where all the bells were 
ringing about our ears. — This was owing to the continual 
noise of the enemy for ninety-three days— Shouting, call- 
ing, whistling, as signals to attack us, &c. — Then, from 
the temples and adoratories of their accursed idols, the 
timbals and horns, and the mournful sound of their great 
drum, and other dismal noises were incessantly assailing j 
our ears, so that day or night we could hardly hear each 
other speak." 

By Guatimozin's request, the city was -cleared of its 
inhabitants, that it might be effectually purified. The 
causeys were crowded for three successive days and nights 
with a horde of such miserable, diseased, and helpless j 
wretches, creeping slowly away from their former proud 
capital, "that it was misery to behold them." 

The booty discovered by the conquerors in no degree 
equalled their anticipations. It was supposed that great 
quantities of gold had been thrown into the lake, and 
' divers were employed in the search for it, but with little 
effect. The unfortunate Guatimozin, and the lord of the 
city of Tacuba were put to the torture, with the assent of 
Cortez, to extort from them information as to the places 
where they had concealed their treasures. Cortez obj ected 
to this piece of barbarity, but permitted it that the suspi- 
cion might not rest upon him of having, by connivance, 
appropriated the plunder to his own use. 

The young monarch, in this extremity, preserved his 
dignity and composure, enduring the cruelties of his tor- 
mentors with Indian fortitude. When the barbarous in- 
flictions of the Spaniards drew forth groans or complaints 
from his companion in suffering, Guatimozin silenced him 

I 

ty = 



106 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



with the calm interrogative, "Think'st thou, then, that I 
am taking my pleasure in my bath ?" Nothing was gained 
by the inhuman transaction, although the emperor told 
of a place in the lake where gold had been thrown, and 
the lord of Tacuba confessed that he had stores at a house 
in the country. These declarations were probably made 
merely for the purpose of escaping present anguish. 



CHAPTER VII. 

REBUILDING OF THE CITY EXTENSION OF SPANISH POWER 

THE MARCH TO HONDURAS EXECUTION OF GUATIMOZIN 

■ — DONNA MARINA MODERN MEXICO. 

"Now they are gone— gone as thy setting blaze 
Goes down the west, while night is pressing on, 
And with them the old tale of better days, 
And trophies of remembered power are gone." 

Bryant. 

Within a few years after the scenes we have just de- 
scribed, the royal city of the Aztec monarchs rose from 
its ruins with renewed splendor; but under what. different 
circumstances from those which attended its first establish- 
ment! The proud-spirited nation, reduced to degrading 
servitude, was compelled to build and plant for the bene- 
fit of the victorious Spaniards, whose power daily in- 
creased with the multitudes flocking from the Old World to 
seek wealth or novelty in the sunny climes of New Spain. 

The modern city of Mexico presents a very different 
aspect from that of the ancient capital. By the drainage 
of the lake, it no longer stands upon an island; and the 
causeys, which led to it, still used as public roads, are said 
to be scarcely distinguishable from the other highways. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



All the surrounding tribes who did not yield implicitly to 
the dictates of the general, when the great city was de- 
stroyed, were promptly quelled and humbled. Confirmed 
in his authority by royal commission— for the efforts of 
his enemies could avail little against the universal accla- 
mation which followed the news of his successes— Cortez 
continued to increase the extent of Spanish dominion, and 
still more effectually to crush all spirit of opposition among 
the miserable Mexicans. We cannot detail the terrible 
examples of vengeance which followed any attempt to 
throw off the galling yoke. With such coadjutors as 
Alvarado, Sandoval, and other of his veteran ofhcers, 
resistance to his supremacy proved worse than vain. The 
stake or the halter was the ready instrument by which the 
crime of rebellion was punished. 

In October of 1524, Cortez, with a small force of Span- 
iards, and a large body of natives, undertook a long and 
difficult march to Honduras. His purpose was to chastise 
the rebellious de Olid, who had thrown off his general's 
authority. Although the details of the dangers, hard- 
ships, and adventures in this expedition are minute and 
interesting, we only refer to it as giving occasion for the 
destruction of the last Aztec monarch. Continually ap- 
prehensive of a new revolt, Cortez had, ever since the 
conquest, kept his royal prisoner a close attendant on his 
person. Together with his faithful vassal, the lord of 
Tacuba, Guatimozin was taken to accompany the party 
to Honduras. At Gueyacala, or Aculan, a conspiracy of 
the Mexicans in the train to fall upon and massacre the 
Spaniards, was reported to the general, and attributed to 
the influence of these two nobles. All participation in 
this plot was denied by the captives, but slight suspicion 
was sufficient to furnish an excuse to the unscrupulous 
Spaniard for ridding himself of a constant source of anxiety. 
Guatimozin and the Tacuban governor were both hanged 



108 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



by his orders. Diaz affirms that there was but one opin- 
ion among the company, that this was "a most unjust and 
cruel sentence." He proceeds to say that Cortez suffered 
much in his conscience for this act — "He was so distracted 
by these thoughts that he could not rest in his bed at 
night, and, getting up in the dark to walk about, as a re- 
lief from his anxieties, he went into a large apartment 
where some of the idols were worshipped. Here he missed 
his way, and fell from the height of twelve feet, to the 
ground, receiving a desperate wound and contusions in 
his head. This circumstance he tried to conceal, keeping 
his sufferings to himself, and getting his hurts cured as 
well as he could." 

An interesting incident occurred on this march relative 
to the history of the faithful interpreter Donna Marina. 
The course taken led the army through her native prov- 
ince, and it so chanced that, at a great conclave of chiefs 
and principal inhabitants to hold conference with the Span- 
iards, her mother and brother were present. The unna- 
tural parent, who had so long before sold her daughter as 
a slave, thought the hour of retribution was at hand, but 
Marina encouraged and caressed her, making her offerings 
of jewels and other attractive trifles. She avowed her 
attachment to the Spaniards and their religion, expressing 
great pride and satisfaction in the son and the husband, 
for both of whom she stood indebted to her noble master 
and friend. 

We must now take leave of the historical detail of Mex- 
ican chronicles, with a few remarks upon the condition of 
the Indians subsequent to the conquest, the changes since 
wrought by lapse of time, the introduction of a foreign 
population, and the mixture of races. 

For a long period the mass of the natives were compel- 
led to waste their lives in hopeless toil on the plantations, 
in the mines, or at the rising cities of their oppressors. 



ABORIGINES OF MEXICO. 



109 



Cortez felt and expressed some compunctions visitings of 
conscience at the adoption of this general system of slavery, 
but fell in with it as being essential to the maintainance 
of Spanish power and the speedy growth of the colonies. 
He saw that the mental capacity of the people was far 
superior to that of the other North American aborigines, 
and felt some natural regret that their national pride should 
be entirely humbled, and their opportunities for civilization 
and improvement be so entirely cut off. A better state 
of things was gradually brought about, and the inhabit- 
ants of pure native descent are now spoken of as a cheer- 
ful, courteous race, busying themselves in the simpler arts 
of manufacture, cultivating their fields, and enjoying the 
equable freedom from anxiety, so congenial to the mild 
and delicious climate of their country. 

Pulque, the intoxicating drink of the Mexicans, is pro- 
ductive of the evil effects that such beverages always pro- 
duce among the Indians of America; and, in the large 
cities, a disgusting horde of lazaroni disfigures the public 
squares. In the city of Mexico, these beggars are espe- 
cially numerous. 

The half-breeds, who form at the present day so exten- 
sive a portion of the population, present every variety of 
social position. Some of Montezuma's descendants mar- 
ried into noble families of Spain, and their posterity ar- 
rived at great wealth and dignity. The wife of Gruatimozin, 
after his execution, married successively no less than three 
Castilians of honorable family. She is every where spoken 
of as a woman of charming appearance and attractive 
manners. A descendant of the former emperor of the 
Aztecs held the office of Spanish viceroy in Mexico as late 
as the close of the seventeenth century. 



THE FLORIDA INDIANS. 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY EXPEDITIONS OF SPANISH ADVENTURERS PONCE DE LEON 

L. VALASQ.UEZ DE AYLLON— PAMPHILO DE NARVAEZ FER- 
NANDO DE SOTO HIS LANDING AND ESTABLISHMENT 

AT TAMPA STORY OF JOHN ORTIZ, A SPANISH 

CAPTIVE AMONG THE INDIANS. 

Few portions of the Western Continent have witnessed 
such scenes of barbarous warfare between the natives and 
European adventurers, or between subjects of contending 
nations at the East, as the long low peninsula which lies 
at the southern extremity of the Atlantic sea-coast of the 
United States. Its whole history is strangely romantic, 
and might well tempt us away from our subject, were there 
room to chronicle all the interesting details of its discov- 
ery, conquest and settlement 

The first picture presented to our minds, when we turn 
back to these early times, is of Juan Ponce de Leon, gov- 
ernor of Porto Eico, led by Indian fables in 1512 to search 
amid the low islands of the coast for a fountain that should 
bestow perpetual youth; landing upon the green and flow- 
ery shores, and bestowing upon the country its pleasing 
and musical appellation. All of North America, to the 
northward and eastward of Mexico, went by the name 
of Florida, before English settlements were made upon 
the coast. Failing in his first search, Leon undertook a 
second expedition into the unknown world, in hopes of 
finding mines of the precious metals, but was killed in a 
fight with the natives. 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



Ill 



The perfidious Luke Yalasquez de Ayllon, in 1518, vis- 
ited the coast to the northward of Florida, to procure gold 
and slaves. The kindly natives, whom he tempted on 
board, were shut under hatches, and conveyed to Cuba. 
Keturning again to the country, he and his party were 
justly punished for their treachery, nearly all of them 
being slain by the inhabitants, who, mindful of former 
injuries, rose upon them unawares, after putting them off 
their guard by demonstrations of friendship. Those who 
had been carried into servitude mostly perished, some by 
voluntary starvation, and others from grief and despair. 

The Indians of Florida are represented by all early his- 
torians as a high-spirited and courageous race, showing 
considerable skill in agriculture, and exhibiting marks of 
far greater civilization than those of the North. It seems 
not improbable, judging from their traditions, appearance 
and customs, that they, as well as the Natchez, had emi- 
grated from Mexico, perhaps at no very remote period. 
They resided in towns and villages of considerable extent, 
and showed a degree of resolution and desperate valor, 
in defending their homes against the murderous Spaniards, 
which has seldom been equalled. Unappalled by the ter- 
rible execution of the unknown weapons of their enemies, 
who, mounted upon horses (hitherto unknown in the coun- 
try) and clad in defensive armor, presented a novel and 
unaccountable spectacle to their wondering eyes, they dis- 
puted the invaded territory inch by inch. 

Like most of their red brethren, they could not long 
brook the indignity of slavery; the proud spirit of the 
Indian can never, like that of the African, be so humbled 
that his race can continue and multiply in servitude. 

The old Portuguese narrator of De Soto's conquest, 
speaking of the Indian slaves of Cuba, says that their 
custom was to hang themselves, to escape the toil and 
degradation of working the mines. He tells of an over- 



112 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

seer in the service of Yasco Porcalko, (afterwards De Soto's 
lieutenant-general,) who, "knowing the Indians under his 
charge had resolved to hang themselves, went and staid 
for them at the place where they intended to put this dis- 
mal resolution into execution, with a rope in his hand : he 
told them they must not imagine that any of their designs 
were hid from him, and that he was come to hang himself 
with them, that he might torment them in the other world 
an hundred times more than he had done in this." His 
expedient had the desired effect upon their superstitious 
and credulous minds, and, giving up their purpose, they 
returned submissively to their tasks. 

Pamphilo de INarvaez, in April, 1528, with a commission 
from Charles the Fifth to conquer and take possession, 
landed four hundred men and forty or fifty horses at East 
Florida. Penetrating the wilderness, they crossed the 
country to Appalache, sometimes experiencing kind treat- 
ment from the Indians, at other times in danger from their 
attacks. Finding no gold, and but little provision at this 
town, from which they drove out the inhabitants on their 
first arrival, the Spaniards shaped their course to the south 
towards Aute. Tormented by hunger ; beset by hidden 
foes ; disheartened by the terrible difficulties which beset 
their path, from the almost impassable natural conforma- 
tion of the country ; and worn out by incessant exertion, 
JSTarvaez and Ms men reached Aute only to find it burned 
and deserted by its inhabitants. 

Many of the party having already perished, the rest, 
hopeless of making further progress by land, set to work 
to construct boats in which they might reach a port of 
safety. With singular ingenuity they prepared tools from 
the iron of their accoutrements ; and, with no further mate- 
rials than were furnished by the productions of the forest, 
and the manes, tails, and skins of their horses, five small 
boats were built. They embarked and set sail, but nearly 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



113 



all perished, either by famine or by the dangers of the sea. 
Only a handful of the number were ever heard from, 
among whom was Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Yaca. "With 
only four companions he kept on his course to the West, 
and, after years of peril, hardship, and servitude, reached 
the Spanish settlements of Mexico. 

The next Spanish expedition to Florida was of far more 
importance and interest than either that had preceded it. 
The celebrated Fernando de Soto, after acquiring an 
immense fortune as a companion of Pizarro, at Peru, was 
moved by the restless spirit of adventure to undertake a 
more complete examination of the New World opened to 
Spanish cupidity and curiosity. 

With seven ships of his own providing, and accompa- 
nied by from six hundred to one thousand warlike and 
energetic adventurers, many of whom were of noble rank, 
De Soto set sail, in the month of April, 1538. Upwards 
of a year was spent, mostly upon the island of Cuba, before 
the fleet set sail for the Florida coast. In the latter part 
of May, 1539, the vessels came to anchor off the bay of 
Espiritu Santo, now Tampa Bay, on the western sea-board, 
and a large division of soldiers, both horse and foot, were 
landed. The Indians had taken the alarm, and, although 
the smoke of their fires had been seen from ship-board in 
various directions, all had fled from the district, or lay con- 
cealed in the thickets. De Soto appears to have been 
desirous to proceed upon peaceable terms with the natives, 
but hostilities soon followed. Some skirmishes took place 
near the point of landing, and the Spaniards speedily pos- 
sessed themselves of the nearest village, where were the 
head-quarters of the cacique Ucita or Hiriga. Here De 
Soto established himself in "the lord's house," which was 
built upon a mound by the sea-shore ; while the soldiers 
used the materials of the other buildings in constructing 
barracks. 
8 



114 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



At the inland extremity of the town stood the temple 
devoted by the Indians to religions observances. Over the 
entrance of this building was the wooden figure of a fowl, 
having the eyes gilded — placed there for the purpose of I 
ornament, or as symbolic of the tutelary deity of the place. I 

Clearings were now made around the village, to give free j 
scope to the operations of the cavalry, and parties were I 
sent out to explore the country, and to make prisoners ! 
who should serve as guides or hostages. 

The remembrance of horrible outrages committed upon 
himself and his people by Narvaez, had so embittered the ! 
old chief Hiriga against the whites, that no professions of i 
friendship and good will could appease his hatred. De j 
Soto released prisoners who were taken by his scouting 
parties, charging them with presents and conciliatory mes- 
sages for their chief, but all in vain. 

In the tangled forests and marshes the Indians were 
found to be no contemptible opponents. They were de- 
scribed as being "so dexterous fierce and nimble that foot 
can gain no advantage upon them." Their bows and arrows 
were so effective that coats of mail did not prove a sum- j 
cient protection against their force. The arrows were 
headed, as usual, with stone, or with fish-bones; those 
which were made of canes or reeds produced the dead- 
liest effect. 

A party, under Gallegos, scouring the country a few 
miles from the camp attacked a small body of Indians, and j 
put them to flight; but, as a horseman was charging with 
his lance at one of the number, he was amazed to hear j 
him cry out: "Sirs, I am a Christian; do not kill me, nor 
these poor men, who have given me my life." 

Naked, sun-burned, and painted, t hi s man was scarce 
distinguishable from his wild associates, His name was ! 
John Ortiz, and he had lived with the Indians twelve j 
years, being one of the few followers of Narvaez who I 



FLOKIDA INDIANS. 



115 



escaped destruction. Since the disastrous failure of that 
expedition he had made his way to Cuba in a small boat, 
and had returned again to Florida in a small vessel sent 
in quest of the lost party. The Indians enticed a few of 
the crew on shore, and made them prisoners. Ortiz was 
among the number, and was the only one who escaped 
immediate death. After amusing themselves by various 
expedients to terrify and torment their captive, the sav- 
ages, by the command of their chief, Hiriga, bound him to 
four stakes, and kindled a fire beneath him. He was pre- 
served, even in this extremity, by the compassionate entrea- 
ties and persuasions of a daughter of the cacique. His 
burns having been healed, he was deputed to keep watch 
over the temple where the bodies of the dead were depos- 
ited, to defend them from attacks of wolves. His vigilance 
and resolution, in dispatching a wolf, panther, or "Lyon," 
(according to one account) which had seized the body of a 
child of one of the principal chiefs, aroused a kindly feel- 
ing towards him, and he was well used for three years. 
At the end of that time Hiriga, having been worsted in 
fight with Moscoso, a hostile chief whose dwelling was at 
a distance of two days' journey, thought it necessary or 
expedient to make a sacrifice of his Christian subject to 
the devil. "Seeing," says our Portuguese historian, "the 
Devil holds these people in deplorable bondage, they are 
accustomed to offer to him the life and bloud even of their 
subjects, or of any body else that falls into their hands." 

Forewarned of this danger by his former benefactress, 
Ortiz fled in the night towards the country of Moscoso. 
Upon first meeting with the subjects of this chief, he was 
in great danger from the want of an interpreter to explain 
whence he came, and what was his errand; but, at last, 
finding an Indian who understood the language of the 
people with whom he had lived, he quieted the suspicions 
j of his hosts, and remained with them in friendship no less 



116 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



than nine years. Moscoso, hearing of the arrival of De 
Soto, generously furnished his captive with an escort, and 
gave him free permission to return to his countrymen, in 
accordance with a promise made when Ortiz first came to 
his territory. 

The long-lost Spaniard was joyfully received, with his 
companions, at De Soto's camp ; his services as guide being 
considered invaluable. In answer to the first inquiry, 
however, where gold was to be sought, he could give no 
satisfactory information. 

The cacique Moscoso being sent for, soon presented him- 
self at the Spanish encampment, and after spending some 
days in familiar intercourse with the wonderful strangers, 
departed, exulting in the possession of a shirt and other 
tokens of royal munificence. 



CHAPTER II. 

PROGRESS NORTHWARD CONTESTS WITH THE NATIVES VITACHUCO 

EXPEDITION TO CUTIFACHIQUI — -DEPARTURE FOR THE WEST. 

"* * * * The long bare arms 
Are heaved aloft, bows twang and arrows stream; 
Each makes a tree his shield, and every tree 
Sends forth its arrow. Fierce the fight and short 
As is the whirlwind." — Bryant. 

De Soto now concluded to send his vessels back to Cuba, 
and leaving a strong guard in Hiriga's country, to proceed 
northward. Favorable accounts were brought by his emis- 
saries from the adjoining district of Paracoxi, and delud- 
ing hopes of procuring gold invited to still more distant 
exploration in Cale. Yasco Porcalho, wearied and dis- 
gusted with hopeless and desultory skirmishing among the 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



117 



swamps and morasses, resigned his commission, and left 
with the squadron. 

The Spanish force, proceeding up the country, passed 
with great difficulty the extensive morass now known as 
the Wahoo Swamp, and came to Cale in the southern 
portion of Alachua. The inhabitants of the town, which 
was large, and gave tokens of thrift and abundance, had 
fled into the woods, except a few stragglers who were taken 
prisoners. The troops fell upon the stored provisions, 
and ravaged the fields of maize with the eagerness of fam- 
ished men. 

Leaving Cale on the 11th of August, De Soto pressed 
forward to the populous town of Ochile. Here, without 
pretence of coming as friends, the soldiers fell upon the 
inhabitants, and overpowered them by the suddenness of 
their attack. The country was under the rule of three 
brothers, one of whom was taken prisoner in the town. 
The second brother came in afterwards upon the receipt 
of friendly messages from the Spanish general, but the 
elder, Yitachuco, gave the sternest and most haughty 
responses to all embassies proposing conciliatory measures. 
Appearing, at last, to be convinced by the persuasion of 
his two brothers, who were sent to him, he consented to 
a meeting. With a large company of chosen warriors, he 
proceeded to De Soto's encampment, and, with due formal- 
ity, entered into a league of friendship. Both armies 
betook themselves to the principal village of Yitachuco, 
and royal entertainment was prepared. 

The treacherous cacique, notwithstanding these demon- 
strations, gathered an immense force of his subjects around 
the town, with a view of surprising and annihilating the 
Spaniards; but the vigilance of John Ortiz averted the 
catastrophe. 

Preparations were at once made to anticipate the attack; 
and so successful were they carried out, that the principal 



118 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



cacique was secured, and his army routed. Many of the 
fugitives were driven into a lake, where they concealed 
themselves by covering their heads with the leaves of 
water-lilies. The lake was surrounded by the Spanish 
troops, but such was the resolution of the Indians, that 
they remained the whole night immersed in water, and, 
on the following day, when the rest had delivered them- 
selves up, " being constrained by the sharpness of the cold 
that they endured in the water," twelve still held out, 
resolving to die rather than surrender. Chilled and stu- 
pefied by the exposure, these were dragged ashore by some 
Indians of Paracoxi, belonging to De Soto's party, who 
swam after them, and seized them by the hair. 

Although a prisoner, with his chief warriors reduced to 
the condition of servants, Yitachuco did not lay aside his 
daring purposes of revenge. He managed to circulate the 
order among his men, that on a day appointed, while the 
Spaniards were at dinner, every Indian should attack the 
one nearest him with whatever weapon came to hand. 

When the time arrived, Yitachuco, who was seated at 
the general's table, rallying himself for a desperate effort, 
sprang upon his host, and endeavored to strangle him! 
"This blade," says the Portuguese narrator, "fell upon the 
general ; but before he could get his two hands to his throat 
he gave him such a furious blow with his fist upon the 
face that he put him all in a gore of blood." De Soto 
had doubtless perished by the unarmed hands of the mus- 
cular and determined chief, had not his attendants rushed 
to his rescue, and dispatched the assailant. 

All the other prisoners followed their cacique's example. 
Catching at the Spaniards' arms, or the "pounder where- 
with they pounded the maes," each "set upon his master 
therewith, or on the first that fell into his hands. They 
made use of the lances or swords they met with, as skil- 
fully as if they had been bred to it from their childhood; so 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



119 



that one of them, with sword in hand, made head against 
fifteen or twenty men in the open place, until he was killed 
by the governor's halbardiers." Another desperate war- 
rior, with only a lance, kept possession of the room where 
the Indian corn was stored, and could not be dislodged. 
He was shot through an aperture in the roof. The Indians 
were at last overpowered, and all who had not perished 
in the struggle, were bound to stakes and put to death. 
Their executioners were the Indians of Paracoxi, who shot 
them with arrows. 

Napetaca, the scene of this event, was left by the Span- 
iards in the latter part of September. Forcing their way 
through the vast swamps and over the deep and miry 
streams that intercepted their path, and exposed to the 
attacks of the revengeful proprietors of the soil, they came 
to the town of Uzachil, somewhere near the present Oscilla 
river, midway between the Suwanne and Appalachicola. 
Encumbered with horses, baggage, and armor as they were, 
their progress is surprising. Uzachil was deserted by the 
Indians, and the troops revelled in store of provision left 
by the unfortunate inhabitants. 

Marauding parties of the Spaniards succeeded in seizing 
many prisoners, both men and women, who were chained 
by the neck, and loaded with baggage, when the army 
recommenced their march. The poor creatures resorted 
to every method to effect their escape; some filing their 
chains in two with flints, and others running away, when 
an opportunity offered, with the badge of slavery still 
attached to their necks. Those who failed in the attempt 
were cruelly punished. 

The natives of this north-western portion of Florida 
evinced no little skill and good management in the con- 
struction of their dwellings and in their method of agricul- 
ture. The houses were pronounced " almost like the farm- 
houses of Spain," and some of the towns were quite populous. 



120 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Making a halt at Anhayca, the capital town of the dis- 
trict of Palache, De Soto sent a party to view the sea-coast. 
The men commisioned for this service discovered tokens 
of the ill-fated expedition of Narvaez at Ante, where the 
five boats were built. These were a manger hewn from 
the trunk of a tree, and the bones of the horses who had 
been killed to supply the means of outfit. 

De Soto, about the last of November, sent a detach- 
ment back to the bay of Espiritu Santo, with directions 
for two caravels to repair to Cuba, and the other vessels, 
which had not already been ordered home, to come round 
by sea and join him at Palache. Twenty Indian women 
were sent as a present to the general's wife, Donna Isabella. 

In one of the scouting expeditions, during the stay at 
Palache, a remarkable instance of self-devotion was seen 
in two Indians, whom the troops came upon as they were 
gathering beans, with a woman, the wife of one of them, 
in their company. "Though they might have saved 
themselves, yet they chose rather to die than to abandon 
the woman." " They wounded three horses ; whereof one 
died," before the Spaniards succeeded in destroying them. 

Early in March, 1540, the Spanish forces were put in 
motion for an expedition to Yupaha, far to the north-east. 
Gold was still the object of search. A young Indian, 
who was made prisoner at Napetaca, alleged that he had 
come from that country, and that it was of great extent 
and richness. He said that it was subject to a female 
cacique, and that the neighboring tribes paid her tribute 
in gold, "whereupon he described the manner how that 
gold was dug, how it was melted and refined, as if he had 
seen it done a hundred times, or as if the Devil had taught 
him; inasmuch that all who understood the manner of 
working in the mines, averred that it was impossible for him 
to speak so exactly of it, without having seen the same." 

It would be foreign to our present subject to follow De 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



121 



Soto in this tour; and, indeed, the position of many of 
the localities which are described by his historians^ and 
the distances and directions of his wearisome and perilous 
journeyings, must, at the present day, be matters of con- 
jecture. It may not, however, be amiss to mention briefly 
the accounts preserved of the appearance of some of the 
tribes through whose dominions he passed before his 
return to the north-western districts of modern Florida. 

As he moved northward, a marked change was per- 
ceived in the buildings. Instead of the grass-covered 
huts which served well enough in the genial climate of the 
peninsula, the people of Toalli had "for their roof little 
canes placed together like Tile; they were very neat 
Some had the walls made of poles, so artificially inter- 
woven, that they seemed to be built of Stone and lime." 
They could be thoroughly warmed in the winter, which 
was there pretty severe. The dwellings of the caciques 
were roomy and commodious, and were rendered conspi- 
cuous by a balcony over the entrance. Great skill was 
shown by these people in the manufacture of cloth from 
grass or fibrous bark, and the deer skins, of which they 
made leggins and other articles, were admirably well 
dressed and dyed. 

The most remarkable of the countries visited, on this 
Northern exploration, was Cutifachiqui, supposed to have 
been situated far up the Chatahoochee, which was gov- 
erned by a female. The Spaniards were astonished at the 
dignity and refinement of the queen. Her reception of 
De Soto reminds one of Cleopatra's first meeting with 
Anthony, as described by the great dramatist. She was 
brought down to the water in a palanquin, and there seated 
in the stern of a canoe, upon cushions and carpets, with 
a pavilion overhead. She brought presents of mantles 
and skins to the general, and hung a neck-lace of large 
pearls about his neck. 



122 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The Indians of the country were represented as "tawny 
well-shaped, and more polite than any before seen in Flor- 
ida." Their numbers had been greatly reduced, two years 
previous, by a pestilence, and many deserted dwellings 
were to be seen around the town. The accounts given of 
the quantity of pearls obtained here, by searching the 
places of sepulture, are incredible. 

Departing from Cutifachiqui, De Soto had the ingrati- 
tude to carry the queen along with him, compelling her 
even to go on foot. "In the mean time, that' she might 
deserve a little consideration to be had for her still » she 
induced the Indians by whose houses the cavalcade 
passed, to join the party, and lend their aid in carrvin- 
tne baggage. She succeeded, finally, in making her escape! 

We must now dismiss De Soto and his band upon their 
long journey through the western wilderness. He died 
upon the Red Eiver, and those of his companions who 
escaped death from exposure, disease, or savage weapons 
years after the events above described, made their way 
down the Mississippi to the gulf, and thence reached the 
bpamsh provinces of Mexico. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM THE CONQUEST BY DE SOTO TO THE YEAR 181 8 — MISSIONARY 
OPERATIONS BY THE SPANIARDS-MOORe's INVASION OP 
FLORIDA BOWLES WARS OF 1812— DEFEAT OF 
THE SEMINOLES BY GENERAL JACKSON. 

We can but briefly touch upon the incidents of Flor- 
ida history for nearly two centuries after De Soto's inva 
sion The French Huguenot refugees, who settled upon 
St. Johns river in 1562, found the natives placable and 



FLORIDA INDIAN'S. 



123 



generous. Although their kindness was but ill recipro- 
cated by the colony, no very serious difficulties occurred 
between the two races. The power and self-confidence 
of the Indians had been broken, and their numbers greatly 
reduced by the desolating ravages committed by the 
Spaniards. 

In the brutal and murderous wars between the French 
and Spanish colonies, which succeeded the new attempts 
at settlement; the Indians, although they took no conspi- 
cuous part, were occasionally involved in hostilities. The 
most important era in the native history of this period, is 
that of the establishment of a regular missionary system 
of instruction. 

The central point of these operations was the convent 
of St. Helena, situated at St. Augustine. Don Pedro Men- 
endez de Avilla, the Spanish governor who founded this 
town, and who had been commissioned by the king of 
Spain to spread the Catholic religion among the Indians, 
was indefatigable in carrying out his sovereign's inten- 
tions. The success met with by the ecclesiastics sent forth 
among the various tribes, is astonishing. In the wilder- 
ness of central Florida may still be seen the ruins of 
buildings erected by their means for religious exercises. 
Their efforts were not confined to the vicinity of the col- 
onies: emissaries penetrated the western forests, even to 
the Mississippi; and amid the rough mountain districts of 
the north, they were to be found %ing with the In- 
dians, and assiduously instructing them, not only in their 
religious creed, but in language and useful arts. 

The Spanish influence might perhaps have been main- 
tained over the Indians during the existence of the colony, 
but for the jealous suspicions of Cabrana, who was made 
governor in 1680. He put to death the principal chief of 
the Yemasees, or innabitants of East Florida, upon an 
accusation of having given aid and comfort to the English 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

settlers on the St. J ohn's, then called May river. The con- 
sequence of this act was a long and troublesome war. 

The unfortunate Indians were for many years after this 
event made the tools of the hostile European colonies: 
first m the French and Spanish wars, and afterwards, in 
1702 and 1704, when governor Moore, of South Carolina, 
invaded Florida. 

In the north-western districts of the peninsula dwelt the 
Appalachees; the rest of the country was inhabited by 
the Yemasees. These two nations had formerly been upon 
terms of the bitterest enmity, but had been reconciled by 
the mediation of the Spaniards. Moore, followed by a con- 
siderable body of English, and a large force of Creek 
Indians, ravaged nearly the whole country, beginning at 
Appalachee, and proceeding south-easterly to the Atlantic 
sea-board. He carried away many Indians of the con- 
quered tribes to the English plantations as slaves. 
. After a lon S P eri od of hopeless and profitless warfare 
m which they had nothing to gain by success, and by 
means of which they were disabled from agriculture and 
deprived of a settled abode, the scattered remnants of the 
Indian tribes graduaUy took up their quarters in the heart 
oi the country, and further towards the South. In the 
latter part of the eighteenth century they acquired the 
name of Semmoles, said to signify "wanderers " 

In the year 1792, an unprincipled adventurer from Eng- 
land named Bowfe, made strenuous attempts to excite 
the hostility of the Indians against the Spanish settlers 
failing m a direct attempt to plunder an Indian trading- 
house on the St. John's, and finding himself abandoned by 
his associates, he betook himself to the Creeks, married a 
woman of that tribe, and persuaded the Indians that the 
store of goods which he had attacked belonged rightfully 
to them. He met with considerable success in deceiving 
the simple-minded natives, and, assisted by several chiefs 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



125 



of the Creek nation, lie got possession of the fortress of 
St. Marks. Delivering himself up to riot and drunken- 
ness, with his followers, it proved no difficult task for the 
Spanish troops to retake the fort. Bowles was allowed to 
escape, but was afterwards delivered up by his Indian 
allies, and taken to Cuba a prisoner. The Seminoles were 
partially involved in the wars of 1812 and the two succeed- 
ing years, when the Americans invaded Florida, Their 
chief leaders were King Payne and his brother, the noted 
Boleck or Bow-legs. Having done no little damage by 
burning buildings and plundering the plantations in their 
vicinity, they purposed to march northward, but were en- 
gaged and routed nearer home, by General Newman, with 
a body of troops from Georgia. This force having crossed 
the St. John's, marched into Alachua, and encountered 
Payne within a few miles of his head-quarters. The Indians 
fought bravely, but could not resist the superior skill 
of the whites. Payne was killed, and his men were driven 
off in the first engagement, but they rallied, and returned 
to the attack with redoubled energy. They possessed them- 
selves of the body of their chief; and afterwards surround- 
ing the American forces, kept them in a state of siege for a 
number of days, imperfectly protected by a structure of logs. 

After this period, and previous to the cession of the Flor- 
idas to the United States, the affairs of the Seminoles and 
their American neighbors were unsettled, and some bloody 
scenes were enacted. Fugitive slaves from the adjoining 
states found a secure asylum among the immense wilds of 
the marshy and uninhabited territory of the Floridas, and 
conflicting claims of Indians and whites respecting negroes 
long after formed a fertile source of quarrel and complaint 
Some of the Seminoles became possessed of large numbers 
of slaves, holding them by undisputed title. 

In the month of March, 1818, General Jackson, with 
more than three thousand men, over one half of whom were 



126 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Creek warriors, marched into West Florida to punish and 
check the ravages of the Seminoles. With little opposition 
from the inhabitants, the towns surrounding the lake of 
Miccosukie were destroyed, and much booty, in corn and 
cattle, was secured. The Indian villages upon the Oscilla 
and St. Mark's rivers, known as the Fowel towns, met with 
a similar fate. St. Marks was soon after occupied by the 
invaders, and, in the ensuing month, the great body of the 
Seminoles, aided by large numbers of negroes, was defeated 
on the borders of the Suwanee, and several hundred were 
taken prisoners. The rest fled into East Florida. 



CHAPTER IV. 

COMMENCEMENT OF THE LATE FLORIDA WAR— —TREATY OF MOUL- 
TRIE CREEK— TREATY OF PAINfi's LANDING OSCEOLA DE- 
STRUCTION OF DADE'S COMMAND BATTLE OF THE 

OUITHLACOOCHIE CONFERENCE WITH INDIAN 

CHIEFS, BY GENERAL GAINES. 

*** * * Hark, that quick, fierce cry, 
That rends the utter silence; 'tis the whoop 
Of battle, and a throng of savage men, 
With naked arms, and faces stained like blood, 
Fill the green wilderness. * * * 
* * * * Soon the conquerors 
And conquered vanish, and the dead remain, 
Gashed horribly with tomahawks."— Bryant. 

After the whole country had passed into the hands | 
of the American government, it was thought necessary to I 
take steps to secure the frontiers of the white settlements 
from the incursions of the Indians, and to confine the lat- 
ter to certain specified districts. In the year 1823, there- 
fore, on the 18th of September,, a treaty was concluded 



FLOKIDA INDIAN'S. 



127 



at the camp on Moultrie Creek, between commissioners 
from the United States and a number of Seminole chiefs, 
whereby it was stipulated: that all territory not reserved 
by the articles should pass to the American government ; 
that the Indians should confine themselves to a large dis- 
trict described by courses and bounds in the heart of the 
peninsula; that fugitive slaves should be delivered up, 
the reasonable expenses of securing them being provided 
for; and that certain sums. should be paid by the gov- 
ernment to compensate for the expenses and losses of re- 
moval, and to establish the Indians comfortably in their 
new quarters. Various minor particulars were embodied in 
the treaty, which was signed with mark and seal, on the 
part of the Seminoles, by the principal chief Micanopy; 
by Tuske Hajo, Emathlochee, Econchatimico, Tokose- 
mathla (known as Hicks), Charley Amathla, Tustenugge, 
John Blunt, Mulatto King, Philip, ISTea Mathla, and twenty- 
one others, possessed of or claiming the authority of chiefs. 

An exception was made, by an additional article, in 
favor of six of the signers; who were allowed, in consid- 
eration of former services, to remain upon the lands then 
occupied by them. 

Micanopy is described by Williams as a "large fat man, 
rather obtuse in intellect, but kind to his people and slaves " 
The Indians were removed in accordance with the 
provisions of the agreement, and, until 1835, no serious 
hostilities took place between them and the whites. Com- 
plaints were, indeed, made on both sides of unredressed 
wrongs and outrages. The Alachuan settlers lost their 
cattle, and attributed the thefts to the Indians: on the 
other hand, the Indians complained, with justice, of num- 
berless impositions and deceptions to which they were 
exposed in their intercourse with unprincipled traders 
and speculators. 

To quiet all disturbance it was at last deemed expedient 



128 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA, 



by the American government, to effect an entire removal 
of the Seminoles to the west of the Mississippi. Accord- 
ingly, a meeting was appointed by Micanopy and the gov- 
| eminent emissaries, to be held at Payne's Landing, on the 
Ocklawaha river, on the eighth of "May, 1832. Fifteen 
chiefs were present, and, after mnch argument, signed an 
agreement, in behalf of themselves and their people, to 
accede to the proposals of government; provided the new 
lands assigned them should prove acceptable to a deputa- 
tion from their number who should first go to make exam- 
ination. The United States were to pay the tribe fifteen 
thousand four hundred dollars, and the removal was to 
take place within three years. The authority of the sign- 
ers of this treaty to bind the whole of the Seminole tribes 
has been frequently, and with no little reason, called in 
question. Certain it is, that to a majority of the nation 
the proposition was highly distasteful. 

Several chiefs, with Micanopy's prime counsellor Abra- 
ham, an astute negro, undertook the survey of the west- 
ern reserve, and signed a writing expressive of their satis- 
faction with its appearance. It was claimed by the In- j 
dians, and their partisans, that some deception was used 
both in the wording of this certificate, and generally as 
to the conclusiveness of the arrangements entered into at 
Payne's Landing. 

As the end of the term prescribed, within which they 
must leave their homes, drew near, opposition to removal, 
and determination to resist it, continued to gain force 
among the Indians. They complained of the accounts 
brought them of the belligerent character of the savages 
who would be their near neighbors, and strenuously ob- 
jected to a plan, set on foot at "Washington, for uniting 
their tribe with that of their old enemies the Creeks. 

Serious disturbances commenced in 1835. Some months 
previously, whites had been, upon one or two occasions, 

i 




ware eo la. 



FLOKIDA INDIANS. 



129 



fired upon by the Indians, and mutual wrongs, insults, 
and injuries, had excited general ill-feeling between the 
two nations. In the month of October, of this year, sev- 
eral Indians were detected in killing a cow near Kenapaha 
pond, not far from Miccosukie. They were set upon by 
seven whites, who seized their arms, and commenced 
beating them with whips. An affray succeeded, in which 
several were wounded on both sides, and two of the In- 
dians were killed outright. This may be considered to 
be the commencement of the war : it was the first blood 
shed, but was soon followed by other outrages. The mail 
rider, upon his route from Fort Brooke, on Tampa Bay, 
to Fort King, fell a victim to Indian revenge ; his body 
was found hacked and mutilated. 

It now appeared that the Seminoles, determined to main- 
tain their ground, had been, for some time, purchasing 
and hoarding great stores of arms and ammunition. Their 
numbers were considerable; they had among them lead- 
ers known to be bold, determined, and sagacious; they 
considered themselves wronged and oppressed; and all 
these circumstances, combined with their intimate knowl- 
edge of the impassable wilderness to which they could 
at any moment retire, convinced the discerning that a 
war with them must be fraught with danger and difficulty, 
and might be indefinitely protracted. 

The young chief, Osceola, whose name is more inti- 
mately associated than any other with the bloody events 
that succeeded, now began to attract attention for his j 
acuteness, energy, and determined hostility to the whites. 
He was a quadroon of the Bed Stick (anglicized from the 
French "Baton Bouge") tribe, of Miccosukie; his mother 
being a half-breed, and his father supposed to be an Eng- 
lishman named Powel — a name ordinarily borne by the 
chief. Osceola had opposed the plan of removal at pre- 
vious councils, with great vigor, and on one occasion 
9 



130 



demeaned himself with such violence that he was seized 
b y General Thompson, the government agent, and kept for 
a day or two confined in fetters. Dissembling his rage, 
he, for a time, managed to disarm suspicion; bringing in 
a great number of his followers, and solemnly ratifying 
the treaty. 

His true purposes and feelings were first known by the 
part he took in the murder of John Hicks and Charley 

j Amathla, two chiefs who had been prominent in forward- 
ing the treaty of removal. He obtained great ascendancy 
for himself and followers among the whole nation of the j 
Seminoles; and mainly through his influence, instead of 
collecting their cattle and stock for appraisal, at the time 
when they were notified that they must leave the country, 
the warriors of the tribe secreted their women and chil- 
dren in swamps remote from white settlements, and scoured 
the country in hostile attitude. 

Troops were ordered to Florida from various quar- 
ters. Major Dade, arriving at Tampa Bay, with a com- 
pany of United States' infantry, being reinforced, with two ! 
other companies, started, on the 24th of December, to | ! 

I the relief of General Clinch, at Fort King. His force . < ! 
consisted of over one hundred regular troops, supplied 
with ten days' provision: they took with them a small 
field-piece. Some delay occurred upon the march, owing 
to the difficulty of transporting the cannon, and on the 
28th they had advanced no farther than a few miles to 
the northward of the forks of the Ouithlacoochee. Here 
they were attacked by an unknown multitude of Indians 
under the command of Micanopy, and his brother-in-law', 

j the celebrated Jumper, who had avoided signing the 

| treaty of Moultrie Creek. The savages were crouching 
among the long wire-grass, and protected by the trunks 
of the pine-trees, when they commenced their fire. The 
effect was deadly; Major Dade and a great number of 



FLORIDA IXDIAX3. 



131 



< his men were killed at the first discharge. The soldiers 
continued to fight bravely, sheltering themselves as well 
I as possible behind trees; and, as the Indians rose up, 
poured in their fire so briskly as to drive the enemy from 
the field. Every instant was now occupied in forming a 
slight protection by cutting and piling up the trunks of 
j pines. The Indians, however, soon returned in great 
| force, and, surrounding the little entrenchment, destroyed 
\ nearly every man of the company. After they had taken 
| possession of the arms which lay scattered around, the 
Indians retired, but a body of mounted negroes are said 
to have come up, and finished the murderous work by 
I knocking out the brains of the wounded. Only four men 
I escaped, being passed over by the negroes and Indians, as 
! they lay wounded and motionless among the dead bodies. 

One of these was killed on the following day, while en- 
! deavoring to make his way back to the fort: the other 
| three, cautiously threading their path through the wilder- 
! ness, arrived safe at Tampa Bay. 

On the same day with the destruction of Dade's com- 
! mand, Osceola revenged himself upon his hated foe, Gen- 
eral Wiley Thompson, by whom he had been imprisoned, 
as before mentioned. A company of nine, among them 
General Thompson, were dining at the house of a Mr. 
Eogers, within fifty rods of Fort King, when the house 
was beset by Indians, and a volley poured in upon the 
company. Thompson and four others were killed; the 
rest escaped to the fort. 

In the course of the month, various plantations were 
' destroyed in different parts of the country bordering 
I on the Indian reserve, and some skirmishing took place. 
On the last day of December, General Clinch, who had 
been stationed at Fort Grane, thirty miles north-west of 
Fort King, being on his march towards Osceola's head- 
j quarters with a considerable force of Florida volunteers 



132 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



and about two hundred regular troops, encountered the 
enemy upon the left bank of the Ouithlacoochee. 

The Indians, numbering, as was supposed, about six 
hundred, headed by Osceola, fell upon the first division 
of the American army that had effected the passage of the 
river. The stream, contrary to expectation, was in no 
place fordable, and the only means of crossing was by a 
single canoe ; the horses passed the river by swimming. 
The Indian commander evinced great bravery and con- 
summate marksmanship, and his men, firing from the cover 
of a thick growth of underwood, and from behind trees, 
proved difficult opponents to dislodge. The troops, with 
one or two slight exceptions, stood firm, and after repeated 
charges, drove the Indians from the field. In this engage- 
ment more than fifty Americans were wounded, and sev- 
eral killed; the loss of the enemy was reported to have 
been over one hundred. 

Additional troops from Louisiana, and forces connected 
with the marine service, were collected at Tampa Bay; and 
a large detachment, under General Gaines, marched to Fort 
King, where they arrived on the 22d of February. Pro- 
visions being scarce, and the state of the roads being such 
that supplies could not be easily procured, Gaines and his 
force commenced their return to Tampa, by the route for- 
merly taken by Clinch, across the Ouithlacoochee. On 
the bank of the river, no great distance from the scene 
of the last battle, the army was, in a manner, surrounded 
and besieged, for more than a week, by Indians, apparently 
to the number of from one to two thousand. A galling 
fire was kept up at every exposed point. Word was sent 
to Fort Drane, where General Clinch was stationed, for 
relief, as the provisions of the army were nearly expended. 

On the 6th of March, a conference was held between 
the American officers and three of the principal Indian 
chiefs— Osceola, Jumper, and Alligator. The camp had 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



been hailed during the previous night, and a wish for a 
parley expressed on the part of the savages. The chiefs 
professed a desire for peace ; said they were weary of war, 
and that, if they could be allowed to retire quietly beyond 
the Ouithlacooch.ee, and could remain there unmolested, 
they would create no further disturbance. They were 
informed that the general had no authority to conclude 
any agreement with them, and that their only course was 
to comply with the requisitions of the government, as 
forces, which it would be impossible for them to resist, 
were on their way to enforce submission. The Indian 
chiefs wished for an opportunity to take counsel with their 
great King Micanopy, before returning an answer; but 
General Clinch appearing, with the desired relief, and 
engaging with a detachment of the Indians, the meeting 
was broken up. They agreed, however, before retiring, 
to draw off their warriors to the south bank of the river, 
and to hold themselves ready to attend further council 
when notified. 

Nothing further was effected, and the combined Amer- 
ican forces returned to Fort Drane. 



134 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONDITION OF EAST FLORIDA GENERAL SCOTT'S CAMPAIGN GAR- 
RISON BESIEGED ON THE OUITHLACOOCHEE OCCURRENCES DUR- 
ING THE SUMMER OF 1836 ARRIVAL OF CREEK ALLIES 

COLONEL LANES' EXPEDITION FROM TAMPA BATTLES 

• OF THE WAHOO SWAMP GENERAL JESSUP AP- 
POINTED TO THE COMMAND IN FLORIDA. 

"* * And there are tales of sad reality 
In the dark legends of thy border war." 

Halleck. 

By this time grievous injury had been done by the 
Indians to the settlements in East Florida. Philip was 
the principal leader in the devastations that took place 
in that region. New Smyrna, at Mosquito Inlet, was 
destroyed, and the plantations upon Halifax river, to the 
northward of the town, were ravaged and the settlers driven 
off. The white inhabitants of the interior were every 
where obliged either to abandon their homes, or to erect 
defences and to establish a regular watch. 

General Scott having been appointed to the command 
of the army in Florida during the spring of this year 
(1836), formed a plan to penetrate the heart of the country, 
with a large force, from three different quarters simulta- 
neously, and thus surround the Indians, and cut off their 
retreat. Generals Clinch and Eustice, and Colonel Lindsey 
were appointed to lead the three divisions. General Clinch's 
party was attended by General Scott in person. The army 
was put in motion in the latter part of the month of March. 

The service was accomplished, but with little good 
effect. The Indians, possessing perfect knowledge of the 
country, instead of opposing the advancing columns in 
force, hung about the flanks and rear of the army, and kept 



FLORIDA INDIAN'S. 



135 



up a vexatious skirmishing. No important engagement 
took place, and the three divisions, after lying for a few 
days at Tampa, were again put in motion. Separate detach- 
ments were ordered to proceed, one to Fort Drane, one to 
attack the enemy at Pease Creek, to the southward, one to 
ravage the country in the vicinity of the Ouithlacoochee, 
and another to march to Yolusia. 

Little benefit appears to have resulted from the cam- 
paign: a careful attention to the plans of Indian warfare 
laid down, at an earlier age, by Captain Benjamin Church, 
of New England, or by the redoubtable pioneer of Vir- 
ginia, Captain John Smith, might have produced effects 
far more decided. 

A small detachment of troops had been left, about the 
middle of March, to guard a quantity of provision, stored 
in a rude building fifteen miles up the Ouithlacoochee. 
Not having been heard from for many weeks after, they 
were supposed to have been cut off by the Indians, and 
no attempt was made to relieve them until towards the 
latter part of May, when three of the garrison managed 
to escape the vigilance of their besiegers, and to convey 
intelligence of their condition to Tallahassee. The small 
party had been defending their post gallantly for more 
than two months against hosts of the enemy; their block 
house had been partially destroyed over their heads, so 
that they were exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, 
and their provision consisted entirely of com. A steamer 
was sent to the river's mouth, and the company was brought 
down to it in a barge. 

As the season advanced, the enervating influence of the 
climate produced its natural effect upon the troops. The 
fevers of the country attacked those who were not accli- 
mated, and the rest were but poorly conditioned for an 
arduous campaign. Active operations for the most part 
ceased; the volunteers were discharged, and the regular 



136 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



soldiers distributed among the different forts extending 
from St. Augustine across the country to the Suwanne. 
The Indians were free to roam where they listed through the 
immense wilderness to the southward, and to lay plans of 
secret attack upon every exposed settlement or plantation. 

About the end of April, a terrible massacre took place 
at Charlotte Harbor; and in May and June, the country 
between the St. Johns and the Atlantic, nearly as far north 
as St. Augustine, was generally ravaged by the Indians. 
Their attacks extended to the vicinity of Mandarin, only 
sixteen or eighteen miles south of Jacksonville. A Mr. 
Motte, residing at that place, was murdered, and his estab- 
lishment was destroyed. 

Early in June, the Indians, emboldened by success in the 
destruction of plantations, and the expulsion of the whites 
from such extensive districts, beset the fort at Micanopy, 
which was garrisoned by a company under the command 
of Major Heillman, then at the head of the army west of 
St. John's river. They were driven off, but not without 
some loss on the part of the whites. 

In July, Fort Drane had become so unhealthy that it 
was thought necessary to abandon it. As the troops were 
on their march upon the evacuation of the place, they 
had a sharp brush with some hundreds of Indians who 
lay in wait for them near Welika Pond, in the vicinity of 
Micanopy. Towards the close of the month the light- 
house at Cape Florida was destroyed. The keeper, named 
Thompson, was singularly preserved by clinging to the top 
of the stone wall of the building, while the wood- work 
was burned out from within. After the Indians had, by 
their own act, cut off the means of access to the summit 
they descried the unfortunate man, half dead with the heat 
and smoke, and shot at him a long time without effect. 
He was able to crouch in such a manner upon the top of the 
wall as to elude their aim, until they took their departure. 



FLOKIDA INDIANS. 



137 



It would be impracticable, in a sketch of this kind, to 
give Ml particulars of the skirmishing, plundering, and 
murders which were to be heard of on every side during 
the summer of 1836. About the middle of August, it was 
ascertained that Osceola and a large company of his fol- 
lowers were staying in the vicinity of the abandoned Fort 
Drane, for the sake of securing the corn growing upon the 
neighboring plantations. They were attacked and defeated 
by Major Pierce. . 

In September a marauding party of Indians made their 
way to within seven miles of Jacksonville, where they 
attacked the house of Mr. Higginbotham. There were 
only two men in the house, but, having a number of guns, 
and receiving resolute assistance from the women of the 
family, they successfully resisted the assault. After the 
Indians had retired, Higginbotham hastened with all speed 
to Jacksonville, and procured a party of twelve men, 
under Major Hart, to pursue them. Taking the Indian 
trail, the company followed it to the house of Mr. Johns, 
ten miles distant from the scene of the attack. The build- 
ing had been reduced to ashes, and the half-burned body 
of its proprietor lay among the ruins. Mrs. Johns had 
been scalped, and left to perish. Before their departure, 
one of the savages set fire to her clothes, but she managed 
to extinguish the flame, and to creep away from the burning 
building. In this miserable condition she was discovered, 
lying by the border of the swamp, and kindly cared for. 

The perpetrators of this outrage, having secured good 
horses, effected their escape. 

Before the end of this month, additional forces from 
Tennessee were brought into Florida, and a body of nearly 
a thousand Creeks, led by the Chiefs Paddy Carr and Jim 
Boy, came to lend their aid against the Indians of the penin- 
sula. An army of from one to two thousand men, includ- 
ing the Tennessee brigade, under Governor Call, marched, 



138 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



in the beginning of October, to the deserted Fort Drane, 
but found that the Indians had recently left their quarters 
in that neighborhood. The trail of the fugitives was fol- 
lowed towards the Ouithlacoochee, but the pursuit of sav- 
ages, iu their own country, especially in such a country as 
Florida, by regular troops, encumbered with baggage, and 
ignorant of the fastnesses of the enemy, proved as futile 
in that instance as upon former and subsequent occasions. 
Little was accomplished against the enemy, who were ena- 
bled, at any time, to retreat beyond the reach of their 
pursuers, and only showed themselves where they could 
attack the whites at a disadvantage. Under existing cir- 
cumstances, the main force was obliged to return to Fort 
Drane, not without the loss of a great number of their 
horses from hard service upon indifferent food. 

Colonel Lane, with a strong force of Creek Indians and 
regular troops, made an excursion into the enemy's country 
from Tampa Bay, during the early part of this month. 
Near the Ocklikany Lake, called the Spotted Lake, from 
the great number of small wooded islands which cover its 
surface, about sixty miles from Tampa, an Indian trail 
was struck. The party followed this track to the south- 
ward, and came successively upon several considerable 
Indian villages deserted by the inhabitants. Large corn 
fields were seen in the vicinity of these settlements, and 
some hundreds of cattle were secured by the Creek Indians 
of the company. At one advantageous post, where the 
thick underwood on the borders of a small lake offered 
protection to an ambush, the Seminoles attempted, unsuc- 
cessfully, to resist the invaders. They were driven out 
into the open country and dispersed. Lane and his detach- 
ment joined General Call at Fort Drane on the 19th. He 
survived this service but a few days, being found in his 
tent, nearly dead, with the point of his sword thrust into 
the brain over his eye: there was little doubt among those 



FLOKIDA INDIANS. 



139 



conversant with the circumstances of his death, but that 
it occurred accidentally. 

The combined army, of more than two thousand men, 
marched to the Ouithlacoochee in November. This region, 
which had been a favorite resort of the Seminoles through- 
out the war, was now found entirely abandoned, and trails 
were discovered trending towards the great Wahoo Swamp. 
That the main body of the enemy had moved in that 
direction, was also affirmed by an old negro, found at an 
abandoned village on the river. Taking up the pursuit, 
a portion of the American forces followed the trail, and 
had a sharp engagement with the Indians on the border 
of the swamp. There was, however, abundant space for 
the fugitives to retreat into, where the whites were unable 
to follow them, and no heavy loss occurred on either side. 

Another battle took place on the 21st, in which the 
Seminoles displayed more resolution, and stood the charge 
of the regular troops with greater firmness, than had ever 
before been observed in them. The dangers of the exten- 
sive morass to which they retreated proved more insur- 
mountable $han those attendant upon the contest with the 
savages themselves. 

Provisions being nearly exhausted, and it being impos- 
sible to procure supplies in such a wilderness, the army 
proceeded to Volusia, between Lake George and Dexter's 
Lake. There it was joined by General Jessup, who had 
been appointed to the chief command in Florida, with 
four hundred mounted volunteers from Alabama. 



140 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PURSUIT OF THE SEMINOLES SOUTHWARD ENCOUNTER ON THE 

HATCHEE LUSTEE CONFERENCE AND TRUCE WITH THE INDIANS 

RENEWAL OF THE TREATY OF PAYNE'S LANDING 

NEGLECT ON THE PART OF THE INDIANS TO COMPLY 

WITH ITS PROVISIONS CAPTURE, SURRENDER, 

AND TREACHEROUS SEIZURE OF VARIOUS 
CHIEFS DEATH OF OSCEOLA COLO- 
NEL Taylor's campaign. 

We have already given more space to the details of the 
Florida campaign, than such ill-advised, ill-conducted, and 
trivial operations deserve. We would be the last to en- 
deavor to detract from the deserved laurels of many of 
the brave men who were engaged in them, while we can 
but lament that their lives should have been sacrificed; 
less by the weapons of the savages than by the diseases 
of the country; that the public money should have been 
squandered; and the whole peninsula so long* kept in a 
state of agitation and suspense, when pacific measures 
might have kept matters comparatively at rest. 

Before the first of January, General Jessup, marching 
with his troops from Yolusia, with the cooperation of Colonel 
Foster, dispatched from Tampa, ranged the whole country 
on the Ouithlacoochee and other haunts of the Seminoles, 
and examined the deep recesses of the Wahoo morass,' 
without finding an enemy. The Indian trails which were 
observed, all led to the unexplored wilderness of the south. 
Thither he started in pursuit of the fugitive Seminoles, 
on the 22d of January (1837). On the succeeding day, a 
detachment, under Colonel Cawfield, surprised Osuchee or 
Cooper, a Seminole chief, then encamped at Ahapopka 
Lake, from which flows the Ocklawaha. The chief and 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



HI 



several of his warriors were killed, and a number of pris- 
oners were taken. 

The main army, still following the course of the Indian 
track, now came to the high ridge of sandy hills lying 
directly south of Lake Ahapopka. The second day after 
passing these hills, cattle of the Indians were seen, and 
shortly after a scouting party, under Colonel Henderson, 
discovered the enemy upon the borders of the stream of 
Hatchee Lustee. The troops instantly charged, and drove 
them into the swamp, taking twenty or thirty prisoners, 
mostly women and children. 

On the same day another large body of Indians was 
discovered a little farther to the westward, who fled pre- 
cipitately upon the approach of troops. One of the Semi- 
noles was found watching by his sick wife, who had been 
left as unable to travel. This Indian was sent the next 
morning (January 28th) to invite the Seminole chiefs to 
a conference. The army was marched to the border of 
Tohopekaliga Lake, (into which empties the Hatchee Lus- 
tee Creek,) and encamped between its waters and the Big 
Cypress swamp, to await the return of the messenger. He 
made his appearance on the following day, bringing intel- 
ligence from the hostile chiefs, who agreed to have a par- 
ley. The first who presented himself, on the part of the 
Seminoles, was Abraham, Micanopy's negro counsellor. 
Having held a consultation with General Jessup, he re- 
turned to his people; but three days after, February 3d, 
escorted Jumper, Alligator, and two other chiefs to the 
camp. It was concluded that a grand talk should be held, 
| and a new treaty entered into on the 18th of the month, 
at Fort Dade, on the Big Ouithlacoochee. To that estab- 
lishment the army immediately repaired, as it was agreed 
that hostilities should be suspended until after the council. 

On the 8th of the month, several hundred Indians, led 
by Philip, the chief who had long been the terror of the 



142 



INDIAN EACES OF AilEEICA. 



eastern portion of the peninsula, attacked Colonel Fanning, 
then in the occupation of a station on Lake Monroe, with 
a mixed garrison of regulars, volunteers and Creeks. The 
Creek chief Paddy Carr was of the company. The assail- 
ants were driven off with loss, and, in their retreat, met 
a messenger sent by Micanopy to convey intelligence of 
the truce. 

Some delays occurred in bringing about the conference 
assigned for the 18th, but at last most of the principal 
Seminole chiefs signed a treaty similar to that of Payne's 
Landing, whereby they agreed to remove west of the 
Mississippi. The United States' government was to make 
remuneration for the stock which must necessarily be left 
behind, and to pay stipulated annuities as before agreed. 
There can be but little doubt that, even on this occasion, 
the Indians had no real intention of complying with the 
requisitions of government. Few came in on the days 
appointed, and rumors were circulated among them — 
whether actually believed, or only used as an excuse for 
absenting themselves, does not appear— that the whites 
intended to destroy the whole tribe as soon as they should 
be secured on board the government vessels. 

Osceola andCoe Hajo, still pretending that their endeavor 
was to collect their people for transportation, held a great 
festival or game at ball near Fort Mellon, upon Lake Mon- 
roe, at the eastern part of the peninsula. They doubtless 
chose this place for gathering their followers, as being at 
a safe distance from the point of embarkation on Tampa 
Bay. On the 2d of June, Osceola took two hundred of 
his warriors to Tampa Bay, and, either by force or persua- 
sion, induced the old king Micanopy, and all the other 
Indians who had rendezvoused there in pursuance of the 
treaty, to move off again to the wilderness. 

Hearing of this, the commandant at Fort Mellon, 
Colonel Harney, made up his mind to entrap such of 



FLOKIDA INDIANS. 



143 



the chiefs as were in Ms vicinity, under pretence of a 
conference; and retaliate upon the Seminoles for their 
breach of faith at Tampa, by seizing those who should 
appear. Osceola got wind of the design, and it conse- 
quently proved futile. 

Fort Mellon and Volusia were abandoned during this 
month; the sickness attendant upon the season having 
commenced its ravages among the troops; and the Indians 
W ere left free to roam over that whole portion of the coun- 
try, while the settlers whose dwellings were exposed to 
their assaults, were forced to fly to places of protection. 

The last of the month, Captain Walton, keeper of the 
floating light on Carysford reef, was killed, together with 
one of his assistants, at Key Largos, the most consider- 
able of the Florida Keys. He had a garden at this 
island, and had just landed, coming from the light, when 
he and his party were fired upon. The whole south- 
eastern sea-coast was then in undisturbed possession of 
the hostile Indians. 

In September, General Hernandez, stationed at Fort Pey- 
ton, a few miles from St. Augustine, made an expedition 
to the southward, and captured the dreaded Philip, Uchee 
Billy, and nearly one hunched other Indians and negroes. 
Philip's son coming with a flag of truce to St. Augustine, 
was taken prisoner, and retained in captivity. 

Other chiefs and warriors— among them Tustenugge— 
delivered themselves up at Black Creek, and several cap- 
tures were made at other points; but the most important 
transaction of this autumn— whether justifiable or not— 
was the seizure of Osceola, Alligator, and six other of the 
leading Seminoles. They had come into the neighbor- 
hood of Fort Peyton, and sent word to General Jessup 
that thev desired a parley- 
General Hernandez was deputed to hold the conference, 
but the talk of the Indians being pronounced "evasive 



144 INDIAN" EACES OF AMEEICA. 

and unsatisfactory," the commander-in-chief dispatched a 
force to capture the whole body; these chiefs accordingly, 
with over sixty followers, fell into the hands of their ene- 
mies. The excuse given for this act was that the treachery 
of the Indians upon former occasions had deprived them 
of all claims to good faith on the part of the whites. 
Osceola was removed to Charleston, and died in confine- 
ment on the 30th of January, 1838. If he had survived, 
he was to have been taken, with other Seminoles, to the 
west of the Mississippi. 

In the same month various other captures were made, 
until the Indians in bondage at St. Augustine numbered 
nearly one hundred and fifty. The United States forces, 
consisting of regulars, volunteers, seamen, and Indian allies, 
distributed among the various posts in Florida at this time, 
are set down at little short of nine thousand men! 

Sam Jones, or Abiaca, was, after the capture of Osceola, 
one of the most forward of the Seminole chiefs. He ap- 
pears to have been spokesman at a conference held, not 
far from this time, between his tribe and deputies from 
the Creek nation, bearing proposals and advice from their 
celebrated chief John Eoss. 

We must next proceed to the campaign of Colonel Zach- 
ary Taylor, the hero of many battles, and afterwards the 
distinguished President of the United States. He left 
Fort Gardner, a station sixty miles due east from Fort 
Brooke, on Tampa Bay, with some six hundred troops, to 
follow the enemy into their hidden retreats at the south. 
Pursuing the course of the Kissimee, the army had ad- 
vanced within fifteen miles of the great lake Okeechobee, 
on the northern borders of the unexplored everglades, 
when intelligence was obtained from a prisoner, that the 
Seminoles were encamped in force on the eastern shore of 
the Kissimee lake. With a portion of his army, Colonel 
Taylor crossed the river, and hastened to attack the In- 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



115 



dians in the hammock where they were posted. Never 
before had the Indian rifles done more deadly execution, 
and never had their warriors evinced more determined 
courage. They were, with great difficulty, dislodged and 
dispersed: the number of killed and wounded on the part 
of the whites considerably exceeded that of the Indians, 
no less than one hundred and eleven of Col. Taylor's men 
being wounded, and twenty-eight killed. 



CHAPTER VII. 

VARIOUS MINOR ENGAGEMENTS SURRENDER OF LARGE NUMBERS 

OF INDIANS— CONTINUANCE OF DEPREDATIONS BLOOD-HOUNDS 

FROM CUBA ATTACK UPON A COMPANY OF ACTORS SEMINOLE 

CHIEFS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE WEST TO REPORT THEIR 

CONDITION TO THEIR COUNTRYMEN COL. HARNEY'S 

EXPEDITION TO THE EVERGLADES END OF THE 

WAR INDIANS SHIPPED WEST NUMBERS 

STILL REMAINING IN FLORIDA. 

During December (1837), several encounters of minor 
importance took place in different parts of the country. 
Many prisoners were taken in the district between Fort 
Mellon and Lake Poinsett, near the head waters of the 
St. John's, and a small skirmish occurred as far north as 
the Suwanne. There was a more severely-contested action 
near Fort Fanning, on this river, early in January (1833), 
in which the whites met with some loss, but succeeded in 
taking a number of prisoners. 

On the eastern sea-coast, not far from Jupiter Inlet, a 
company under Lieutenant Powell was worsted in an en- 
gagement, and retreated with loss. The Indians had been 
driven into a swamp on Lochahatchee Creek, where they 



146 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



made a spirited resistance until their pursuers found it 
necessary to retreat 

General Jessup attacked and broke up this encampment 
of the Indians, towards the end of January. He was him- 
self wounded in the action. Toskegee was the chief who 
commanded the Seminoles in both these battles. 

The General was now anxious to conclude a treaty with 
the Indians, by which they should be allowed to remain 
in their own country, confining themselves to specified 
districts, but the government refused assent to any such 
proposition. He nevertheless proceeded to bring about 
parleys with his savage opponents, as it was evident that 
desultory hostilities might be indefinitely protracted. 

The Seminoles, miserably reduced by the troubled life 
they had led so long, and weary of profitless warfare, hard- 
ship and exposure, were induced to surrender in large 
numbers. They apparently expected to be allowed to 
remain in the country, as they were assured by the officers 
with whom they treated, that every endeavor would be 
made to procure that permission from the government. 

When General Jessup left Florida, in April, 1838, leav- 
ing General Taylor in command, more than two thousand 
of the dangerous tribe were in the power of the whites. 
Part of these had been captured, but the larger portion 
had delivered themselves up upon fair promises. 

Philip and Jumper both died on their route to the 
west, the former on board the vessel in which he was 
embarked, and the latter at New Orleans. 

The hopes entertained, after these events, that the war 
was substantially at an end, proved fallacious. Murders 
were committed during the summer and fall, by prowling 
parties of Indians in widely-distant parts of the country. 
On the Ocklikoni and Oscilla rivers in West Florida, 
small establishments suffered from the depredations of the 
savages ; and their hostile feeling was manifest whenever 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



147 



a vessel was in distress upon the dangerous eastern and 
southern coast. 

This desultory warfare, marked by many painful and 
horrible details of private suffering and disaster, continued 
until the spring of 1839. ISTo conference could be obtained 
with the leading chiefs, and Indians were every where 
lurking in small bands ready to fire upon the solitary trav- 
eller, or to rush at an unguarded hour upon an isolated 
plantation. 

General Macomb, who had command of the army during 
April and May, succeeded in bringing about a parley with 
some of the Seminoles, in which it was agreed that the 
tribe should stay peaceably in Florida until intelligence 
could be brought of the safe arrival and prosperous con- 
dition of the captives already shipped westward. The 
Tallahassee chief Tigertail, and Abiaca, having had no 
concern with this treaty, refused to abide by it, and bloody 
skirmishes and assassinations continued to be heard from 
on every side. 

The government of Florida now offered a bounty of 
two hundred dollars for each Indian secured or killed. 
We cannot even enumerate one half the petty engage- 
ments and sanguinary transactions of the ensuing winter 
and spring. In March} 1840, bloodhounds were brought 
into Florida from Cuba, to aid in tracking and ferreting 
out the savages from their lurking places. General Tay- 
lor had been authorized, during the preceding autumn, to 
procure this novel addition to the efficient force of the 
army, and natives of the island were also secured to train 
and manage the dogs. There was a great outcry raised, 
and perhaps justly, at this barbarous plan of warfare, but 
little seems to have resulted from the operation except the 
furnishing a valuable breed of the animal for future do- 
mestic use, and the supplying of excellent subject matter for 
the caricaturists, who made the war a theme for ridicule. 



148 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Before the 1st of June, many more families were mas- 
sacred, and several bloody engagements occurred between 

j comparatively small companies of whites and Indians. 
Near the close of May, a ludicrous though tragical inci- 
dent took place on the road between Picolata and St. 

I Augustine. 

A company of play-actors, en route for the latter town, 
were set upon by the noted chief Wild Cat, with a large 
body of Indians. Four were killed, and the " property" 
of the establishment fell into the hands of the savages. 
Nothing could have delighted them more than an acquisi- 
tion so congenial to their tastes. The tawdry red velvet, 
spangles, and sashes, which every where obtain as the ap- 
propriate costume of the stage, were now put to a new 
use, and served as royal appendages to the dusky forms of 
the Seminole warriors. Decked in this finery, they made 
their exultant appearance before Fort Searle, challenging 
the little garrison to an engagement. 

The month of August was marked by scenes of terrible 
interest. On the Suwanne, eleven families were driven 
from their homes, and many of their members murdered: 
the settlement on Indian Key was almost totally destroyed, 
six persons being massacred. Nothing was accomplished 
in any way tending to bring the war to an end, or to miti- 
gate its horrors, until autumn. 

It was resolved, at last, to try fair measures, since foul 
proved of so little avail, and a number of the principal 
Seminoles who had experienced the realities of a western 
life, among whom were old Micanopy and Alligator, were 
brought back to Florida, for the purpose of pointing out 
to their brethren the advantages of their new homes, and 
inducing peaceable compliance with the intended removal. 
A meeting was obtained at Fort King, early in November, 
with Tigertail and other Seminole chiefs, but after a few 
days of profitless parley, the whole of the hostile party 



FLORIDA INDIANS. 



149 



disappeared, and with them all prospect of an amicable 
settlement of difficulties. 

The Indians continued their depredations, murdering 
and plundering with greater boldness than ever. In De- 
cember, Colonel Harney attached the enemy in quarters, 
which they had till then occupied in undisturbed security, 
viz: the islands and dry spots of that waste of "grass- 
water," as the natives term it, the Everglades. He had 
obtained a negro guide, who knew of the haunts of the 
chief Chaikika and his people, and, taking a considerable 
company in boats, he proceeded to beat up his quarters. 
The party came upon the Indians most unexpectedly: 
Chaikika was shot by a private after he had thrown down 
his arms, and his men, with their families, were surrounded 
and taken before they had time to escape. Nine of the 
men were hanged ! on the ground that they were concerned 
in the Indian Key massacre; some of the property plun- 
dered on that occasion being found in the camp. 

The only other important event of the month was the 
surrender of a son and a brother of the old and implaca- 
ble chieftain Tigertail. They delivered themselves up at 
Fort King. In Middle Florida, travelling continued as 
unsafe as ever, unless in well-armed companies, of force 
sufficient to keep the lurking savages in awe. 

We have now chronicled the principal events of this 
tedious, harassing, and most expensive war. Hostilities 
did not, indeed, cease at the period under our present 
consideration, but a knowledge of the true policy to be 
pursued towards these ignorant and truly unfortunate 
savages began to be generally diffused, and more concili- 
atory measures were adopted. 

John C. Spencer, Secretary of "War, in November, 1842, 
reported that, during the current year, four hundred and 
fifty Indians had been sent west of the Mississippi from 
Florida, and that two hundred more were supposed to have 



150 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



surrendered. This report proceeds: "The number of 
troops has been gradually diminished, leaving an adequate 
number to protect the inhabitants from the miserable 
remnants of tribes, still remaining. We have advices that 
arrangements have been made with all but a very few of 
those Indians for their removal west of the Mississippi, or 
to the district in the southern part of the peninsula assigned 
them for their habitation; and it is believed that, by this 
time, all the bands north of that district, have agreed to 
cease hostilities and remove there. Two or three instan- 
ces of outrages have occurred since the orders were issued 
for the termination of hostilities, but they are ascertained 
to have been committed by bands who were ignorant of 
the measures adopted, or of the terms offered." 

Some difficulty arose from the extreme dislike which 
the Seminoles who were moved westward entertained of 
being located upon the same district with the Creeks, and 
a deputation from their body of a number of warriors, 
including Alligator and Wild Cat, repaired to the seat of 
government for redress. Measures were taken to satisfy 
them. 

The Indians who still keep possession of a district in 
Southern Florida, consisting of Seminoles, Micasaukies, 
Creeks, lichees and Choctaws, are variously estimated as 
numbering from three hundred and fifty to five hundred, 
including women and children. Seventy-six were shipped 
to the west in 1850. 

As a tribe, they have long been at peace with their white 
neighbors, although some individuals of these people 
have, and at no distant date, given proof that the spirit of 
the savage is not yet totally extinct. 



THE INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



CHAPTER I. 

EXPEDITION OF AMIDAS AND BARLOW— OF SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE 
—OF BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLL, WITH CAPTAIN SMITH— SETTLE- 
MENT AT JAMESTOWN— VISIT TO POWHATAN— IMPROVIDENCE 
AND DIFFICULTIES OF THE COLONISTS— EXPLORATION OF 
THE CHICKAHOMINY— SMITH TAKEN PRISONER— HIS 
TREATMENT BY THE INDIANS. 

"He lived, the impersonation of an age 
That never shall return. His soul of fire 
Was kindled by the breath of the rude times 
He lived in."— Bryant. 

The most complete and veracious account of the man- 
ners, appearance, and history of the aboriginal inhabitants 
of Virginia, particularly those who dwelt in the eastern 
portion of that district, upon the rivers and the shores of 
Chesapeake Bay, is contained in the narrative of the re- 
doubted Captain John Smith. This bold and energetic 
pioneer, after many "strange ventures, happ'd by laud or 
sea;" still a young man, though a veteran in military ser- 
vice; and inured to danger and hardship, in battle and 
captivity among the Turks, joined his fortunes to those of 
Bartholomew Gosnoll and his party, who sailed from Eng- 
land on the 19th of December, 1606, (0. S.) to form a 
settlement on the Western Continent. 

Former attempts to establish colonies in Virginia had 
terminated disastrously, from the gross incompetence, ex- 



152 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



travagant expectations, improvidence, and villanous con- 
duct of those engaged in them. 

In 1584, Sir Walter Ealeigh and his associates, under 
a patent from Queen Elizabeth, had sent out two small 
vessels, commanded by Amidas and Barlow. By the cir- 
cuitous route then usually adopted, the exploring party 
passed the West Indies, coasted along the fragrant shores 
of Florida, and entered Ocrakoke Inlet in the month of 
July, enraptured with the rich and fruitful appearance of 
the country. Grapes grew to the very borders of the sea 
overspreading the bushes and climbing to the tops of trees 
in luxurious abundance. 

Their intercourse with the natives was friendly and 
peaceful; as they reported, "a more kind, loving people 
could not be." They carried on trade and barter with 
Granganimeo, brother to Winginia, king of the country 
and were royally entertained by his wife at the island of 
Roanoke. 

Wingandacoa was the Indian name of the country, and 
on the return of the expedition, in the ensuing September,' 
it was called Virginia, in honor of the queen. 

Sir Richard Qrenville, an associate of Raleigh, visited 
Virginia the next year (1585), and left over one hundred 
men to form a settlement at Roanoke. Being disappointed 
in their anticipations of profit, or unwilling to endure the 
privations attendant upon the settlement of a habitation 
in the wilderness, all returned within a year. A most 
unjustifiable outrage was committed by the English of this 
party, on one of their exploring expeditions. In the 
words of the old narrative, "At Aquascogoc the Indians 
stole a silver cup, wherefore we burnt the Towns andspoyled 
their come; so returned to our fleete at Tocokon." This act 
is but a fair specimen of the manner in which redress has 
been sought for injuries sustained at the hands of the natives, 
not only in early times, but too often at the present day. 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA, 153 

It is not surprising that thereafter the Indians should 
have assumed a hostile attitude. Granganimeo was dead, 
I and Winginia, who had now taken the name of Pemissa- 
pan, formed a plan to cut off these disorderly invaders of 
| his dominions. This resulted only in some desultory skir- 
I mishing; and, a few days afterwards, the fleet of Sir Fran- 
I cis Drake appearing in the offing, the whole colony con- 
| eluded to return to England. 

Mr. Thomas Heriot, whose journal of this voyage and 
settlement is preserved, gives a brief account of the super- 
stitions, customs, and manner of living which he observed 
; among the savages. In enumerating the animals which 
were used for food by the Indians, he mentions that "the 
! salvages sometimes killed a Lyon and eat him." He con- 
' eludes his narrative by very justly remarking, that some 
! of the company "shewed themselves too furious in slaying 
| some of the people in some Townes vpon causes that on 
| our part might have bin borne with more mildnesse." 

Grenville, in the following year, knowing nothing of 
the desertion of the settlement, took three ships over to 
America, well furnished for the support and relief of those 
j whom he had left on the preceding voyage. Finding the 
I place abandoned, he left fifty settlers to reoccupy it, and 
returned home. On the next arrival from England the 
village was again found deserted, the fort dismantled, and 
' the plantations overgrown with weeds. The bones of one 
i man were seen, but no other trace appeared to tell the fate 
of the colony. It afterwards appeared, from the narra- 
tions of the savages, that three hundred men from Aquas- 
cogoc and other Indian towns had made a descent upon 
the whites, and massacred the whole number. 

The experiment of colonization was again tried, and 
again failed: of over one hundred persons, including some 
females, who landed, none were to be found by those who 
went in search of them in 15S9, nor was their fate ever 



154 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



ascertained. It is recorded that, before the departure of 
the ships that brought over this colony, on the 18th of 
August (0. S.), the governor's daughter, Ellinor Dare, gave 
birth to an infant, which was named Virginia, and was the 
first white child born in the country. 

We now return to Gosnoll and his companions, num- 
bering a little over one hundred, who, as we before men- 
tioned, visited the country in 1606. They sailed from 
England with sealed orders, which were not to be opened 
until their arrival in America. Landing on Cape Henry, 
at the entrance of the Chesapeake, the hostile feelings of 
the Indians were soon made manifest; "thirtie of the 
company recreating themselves on shore were assaulted 
by flue Salvages, who hurt two of the English very dan- 
gerously." The box containing the orders from the author- 
ities in England being opened, Smith was found to be one 
of the number appointed as a council to govern the colony; 
but he was, at that time, in close custody, in consequence 
of sundry absurd and jealous suspicions which had been 
excited against him on the voyage, and he was therefore 
refused all share in the direction of the public affairs. 
Before the return of the ships, however, which took place 
in June, the weak and ill-assorted colony were glad to 
avail themselves of the services and counsel of the bold 
and persevering captain. His enemies were disgraced, 
and his authority was formally acknowledged. Meantime, 
the settlement was commenced at Jamestown, forty miles 
up the Powhatan, now J ames' river. Th e Indians appeared 
friendly, and all hands fell to work at the innumerable 
occupations which their situation required. A few ruins 
and the picturesque remains of the old brick church-tower 
still standing, utterly deserted amid the growth of shrubs 
and willows, are all that remains of the intended city. 

Newport and Smith, with a company of twenty men, 
were sent to explore the upper portion of the river, and 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



155 



made their way to the town of Powhatan, situated upon 
a bluff just below the falls, and at the head of navigation— 
the same spot afterwards chosen for the site of the capital 
of the state. The natives were peaceable and kind to the 
adventurers, receiving them with every demonstration of 
interest and pleasure, and rejoiced at the opportunity for 
traffic in beads and ornaments. As they approached 
Jamestown, on their return, they perceived some hostile 
! demonstrations ; and arriving there, found that seventeen 
men had been wounded, and that one boy had been killed 
by the Indians during their absence. 

Wiugfield, the president of the colony, had injudiciously 
neglected to make any secure fortifications, and the people, 
leaving their arms stored apart, set to work without a 
guard; thus giving to the lurking foe convenient oppor- 
tunity for an assault. 

After Captain Newport had sailed for England, the 
colonists, left to their own resources, were reduced to great 
straits and privation. Most of them were men utterly 
unfitted for the situation they had chosen, and unable to 
endure labor and hardship. Feeding upon damaged wheat, 
with such fish and crabs as they could catch; worn out by 
unaccustomed toil ; unused to the climate, and ignorant of 
its diseases ; it is matter of little wonder that fifty of the 
company died before the month of October. 

Smith, to whom all now looked for advice, and who 
was virtually at the head of affairs, undertook an expedi- 
tion down the river for purposes of trade. Finding 
that the natives "scorned him as a famished man," deri- 
sively offering a morsel of food as the price of his arms, 
he adopted a very common expedient of the time, using 
force where courtesy availed not. After a harmless dis- 
charge of muskets, he landed and marched up to a village 
where much corn was stored. He would not allow his 
men to plunder, but awaited the expected attack of the 



156 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



natives. A party of sixty or seventy presently appeared, 
"with a most hideous noise— some black, some red, some 
white, some parti-colored, they came in a square order, 
singing and dauncing out of the woods, with their Okee 
(which was an Idoll made of skinnes stuffed with mosse, 
all painted and hung with chaines and copper,) borne 
before them." A discharge of pistol-shot from the guns 
scattered them, and they fled, leaving their Okee. Being 
now ready to treat, their image was restored, and beads, 
copper and hatchets were given by Smith to their full 
satisfaction, in return for provisions. 

The improvident colonists, by waste and inactivity, 
counteracted the efforts of Smith: and Wingfleld, the 
former president, with a number of others, formed a plan 
to seize the pinnace and return to England. This con- 
spiracy was not checked without some violence and blood- 
shed. As the weather grew colder with the change of 
season, game became fat and plenty, and the Indians on 
Chickahamania river were found eager to trade their corn 
for English articles of use or ornament; so that affairs 
began to look more prosperous. 

During the ensuing winter, Smith, with a barge and 
boat's crew, undertook an exploration of the sources of 
the Chickahamania, (Chickahominy,) which empties into 
J ames' river, a few miles above Jamestown. After making 
his way for about fifty miles up the stream, his progress 
was so impeded by fallen trees and the narrowness of the 
channel, that he left the boat and crew in a sort of bay, 
and proceeded in a canoe, accompanied only by two Eng- 
lishmen, and two Indian guides. The men left in charge 
of the boat, disregarding his orders to stay on board till 
his return, were set upon by a great body of the natives, 
and one of their number, George Cassen, was taken pris- 
oner. Having compelled their captive to disclose the 
intentions and position of the captain, these savages pro- 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



157 



ceeded to put him to death in a most barbarous manner, 
severing his limbs at the joints with shells, and burning 
them before his face. As they dared not attack the armed 
company in the boat, all hands then set out in hot pursuit 
of Smith, led by Opechancanough, king of Pamaunkee. 

Coming upon the little party among the marshes, far up 
the river, they shot the two Englishmen as they were 
sleeping by the canoe; and, to the number of over two 
hundred, surrounded the gallant captain, who, accompa- 
nied by one of his guides, was out with his gun in search 
of game. Binding the Indian fast to his arm, with a gar- 
ter, as a protection from the shafts of the enemy, Smith 
made such good use of his gun that he killed three of his 
assailants and wounded several others. The whole body 
stood at some distance, stricken with terror at the unwonted 
execution of his weapon, while he slowly retired towards 
the canoe. Unfortunately, attempting to cross a creek 
with a miry bottom, he stuck fast, together with his guide, 
and, becoming benumbed with cold, for the season was 
unusually severe, he threw away his arms, and surren- 
. dered himself prisoner. 

Delighted with their acquisition, the savages took him 
to the fire, and restored animation to his limbs by warmth 
and friction. He immediately set himself to conciliate the 
king, and presenting him with an ivory pocket compass, 
proceeded to explain its use, together with many other 
scientific matters, greatly beyond the comprehension of the 
wild creatures who gathered around him in eager and 
astonished admiration. Perhaps with a view of trying his 
courage, they presently bound him to a tree, and all made 
ready to let fly their arrows at him, but were stayed by a 
sign from the chief. They then carried him to Orapaks, 
where he was well fed, and treated with kindness. 

When they reached the town, a strange savage dance 
was performed around Opechancanough and his captive, 



158 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



by the whole body of warriors, armed and painted; while 
the women and children looked on with wonder and curi- 
osity. The gaudy color of the oil and pocones with which 
their bodies were covered, "made an exceeding handsome 
show," and each had "his bow in his hand, and the skinne 
of a bird with her wings abroad, dryed ; tyed on his head, 
a peece of copper, a white shell, a long feather, with a 
small rattle growing at the tayles of their snakes tyed to 
it, or some such like toy." 

Although the Indians would not, as yet, eat with their 
prisoner, he was so feasted that a suspicion arose in his 
mind that they "would fat him to eat him. Yet, in this 
desperate estate, to defend him from the cold, one Mocas- 
sater, brought him his gowne, in requitall of some beades 
and toyes Smith had given him at his first arrival in Vir- 
ginia." One of the old warriors, whose son had been 
wounded at the time of the capture, was with difficulty 
restrained from killing him. The young Indian was at 
his last gasp, but Smith, wishing to send information to 
Jamestown, said that he had there a medicine of potent ! 
effect. The messengers sent on this errand made their way I 
to Jamestown, "in as bitter weather as could be of frost ' 
and snow," carrying a note from Smith, written upon "part 
of a Table booke." They returned, bringing with them 
the articles requested in the letter, "to the wonder of all 
that heard it, that he could either divine, or the paper could 
speake." 

A plan was at that time on foot to make an attack upon 
the colony, and such rewards as were in their power to be- 
stow— "life, liberty, land and women"— were proffered to 
Smith by the Indians, if he would lend his assistance. 

They now made a triumphal progress with their illus- 
trious captive, among the tribes on the Eappahanock and 
Potomac rivers, and elsewhere; exhibiting him to the 
Youthtanunds, the Mattapamients, the Payankatanks, the 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



159 



JSTantaughtacunds, and Onawmanients. Ketuming to Pa- 
maunkee, a solemn incantation was performed, with a 
view to ascertain his real feelings towards them. 

Having seated him upon a mat before a fire, in one of 
the larger cabins, all retired, "and presently came skip- 
ping in a great grim fellow, all painted over with coal 
mingled with oyle ; and many Snakes and Wesels skins 
stuffed with mosse, and all their tayles tied together, so as 
they met on the crowne of his head in a tassell ; and round 
about the tassell was a coronet of feathers, the skins hang- 
ing round about his head, backe and shoulders, and in a 
manner covered his face ; with a hellish voyce and a rattle 
in his hand." He sprinkled a circle of meal about the 
fire, and commenced his conjuration. Six more "such like 
devils," then entered, fantastically bedaubed with red 
"Mutchatos" (Mustaches) marked upon their faces, and 
having danced about him for a time, sat down and sang 
a wild song to the accompaniment of their rattles. 

The chief conjuror next laid down five kernels of corn, 
and proceeded to make an extravagant oration with such 
violence of gesture that his veins swelled and the perspi- 
ration started from his body. "At the conclusion they 
all gave a short groane, and then laid down three grains 
more." The operation was continued "till they had twice 
incirculed the fire," and was then varied by using sticks 
instead of corn. All these performances had some mystic 
| signification, which was in part explained to the captain. 

Three days were spent in these wearisome barbarities, 
! each day being passed in fasting, and the nights being as 
! regularly ushered in with feasts. Smith was, after this, 
; entertained with the best of cheer at the house of Opitcha- 
pam, brother to the king. He still observed that not one 
of the men would eat with him, but the remains of the 
feast were given him to be distributed among the women 
and children. 



160 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



He was here shown a bag of gunpowder, carefully 
preserved as seed against the next planting season. 



CHAPTEE II. 

COURT OF POWHATAN— SMITH'S PRESERVATION BY POCAHONTAS— 

SUPPLIES FURNISHED BY THE INDIANS NEWPORT'S ARRIVAL— 

SMITH'S EXPEDITIONS UP THE CHESAPEAKE. 

The great monarch of the country, Powhatan, at this 
period, was holding his court at Werowocomoco, on the 
left bank of York river, and thither Smith was conveyed 
to await the royal pleasure. The reception of so import- 
ant a captive was conducted with suitable solemnity and 
parade. Powhatan sat upon a raised seat before a fire, in 
a large house, clothed with a robe of racoon skins, the 
tails hanging in ornamental array. He was an old man, 
about^ sixty years of age, of noble figure, and that com- 
manding presence natural in one born to rule with undis- 
puted authority over all around him. A young girl sat 
on each side of the king, and marshalled around the room 
were rows of warriors and women, bedecked with beads, 
feathers and paint. 

Smith's entrance was hailed by a shout; the queen of 
Appamatuck brought him water to wash, and he was 
magnificently entertained, as a distinguished guest of the 
king. The strange scene which ensued, so replete with 
pathos and poetic interest, must be given in the simple 
language of the old historian. 

Having ended his repast, " a long consultation was held, 
but the conclusion was, two great stones were brought 
before Powhatan : then as' many as could, layd hands on 
him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and 



POCAHONTAS INTER POSING FOR CAPTAIN SMITH. 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



161 



| being ready with their clubs to beate out his braines, Po- 
[ cahontas, the king's dearest daughter, when no intreaty 
could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her 
! owne vpon his to saue him from death: whereat the Em- 
perour was contented he should hue to make him hatchets, 
and her bells, beads and copper; for they thought him as 
well of all occupations as themselues." 

The worthy captain's own rhymes describe his appear- 
ance and state of mind at this crisis: 

" They say he bore a pleasant show, but sure his heart was sad ; 
For who can pleasant be and rest, that liues in fear and dread?" 

Entertaining his captive as a privileged guest, Powhatan 
I now held long consultations with him, giving wonderful 
I accounts of the vast western country and its inhabitants. 
I Smith responded with details, equally amazing to the sav- 
age monarch, of the power and magnificence of the East, 
i After two days of friendly intercourse, Smith was informed 
! that he should return in safety to Jamestown; but as a 
! prelude to the conveyance of this satisfactory intelligence, 
Powhatan was at much pains to get up a theatrical scene 
| that should impress or terrify his prisoner. Left alone in 
I a large cabin, Smith's ears were saluted by strange and 
frightful noises from behind a mat partition, and, inconti- 
nently, Powhatan, with some hundreds of attendants, all 
like himself, in hideous disguises, made his appearance. 
He appointed twelve Indians to guide him to the settle- 
j ment, requesting that a grindstone and two great guns 
i should be sent back, by them, in return for liberty and 
favours received at his hands. 

Captain Smith, well knowing the capricious disposition 
of his captors, felt little security or ease, until he was 
safely restored to his companions at Jamestown. 

His absence had been severely felt: confusion and dis- 
sension were rife among the inhabitants of the colony, and 
11 

L__ — 



7= 

162 



INDIAN KACES OF AMEEICA. 



the strong arm and determined will of the bold captain 
were required to keep order, and restrain those who were 
again inclined to effect an escape in the pinnace. 

The two guns (demi-culverins), together with a mill- 
stone, were brought out, and proffered to the guides ; but, 
seeing the terrible effect of a discharge of stones among 
the branches of an ice-covered tree, the poor savages were 
greatly terrified, and thankfully accepted divers toys in 
place of so weighty and dangerous a present. 

So reduced were the settlers at this time, that all must 
have perished with starvation but for the intercourse 
established by Smith between them and the people of 
Powhatan. Every four or five days, his noble and gener- 
ous little protectress, Pocahontas — she was then only about 
ten years of age — would make her appearance, accompa- 
nied by attendants laden with provisions. Part of these 
supplies came as presents from the king or his daughter; 
for the rest, the price paid in toys and articles of use was 
left entirely at Smith's discretion, "so had he inchanted 
these poore soules, being their prisoner." 

Captains Newport and Nelson now arrived from Eng- 
land, with two ships, laden with necessaries and articles 
of traffic. Eejoiced at the arrival of friends and provi- 
sions, the colonists allowed the sailors to hold what inter- 
course they pleased with the natives, and the consequence 
was that the market was soon spoiled by the irregularity 
of prices offered by the English for the Indian commodi- 
ties. Smith had possessed Powhatan and his people with 
extravagant ideas of the power and majesty of Newport, 
whose speedy arrival he predicted, and preparations were 
now made to give a still more forcible impression. Mes- 
sengers were sent to inform the Indian monarch that the 
great captain of the seas had reached Jamestown, and 
would make a visit of state to his royal friend and ally. 
The pinnace was made ready for this purpose, and " a great 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



163 



coyle there was to set Lira forward." When they had 
arrived at Werowocomoco, Newport was wary and cau- 
tions, fearing treachery on the part of the savages, and 
Smith therefore volunteered to go forward, with a small 
company, and see that the coast was clear. Over the 
creeks which meandered through the marshy country, 
bridges were found, but of so frail a structure, being com- 
posed of poles bound with bark, that some suspicions 
were entertained that they might be intended as traps. 
Smith therefore kept some of the chief Indians, who 
acted as guides, in the midst of his company, for security 
against attack. 

All their suspicion proved groundless : Powhatan re- 
ceived the officers with the greatest distinction, entertained 
them hospitably, and celebrated their coming with feasts 
and dances. The great king "carried himself so proudly 
yet discreetly (in his salvage manner) as made all admire 
his naturall gifts." He declined any petty traffic, but 
requested Newport to bring forward at once all the goods 
that he had brought for trade, expressing his willingness 
to give full return. His desire was complied with, New- 
port wishing to outdo the king in generosity and show of 
munificence ; but the result hardly equalled his expecta- 
tion, for the cunning savage, says the narrator, "valued 
his corne at such a rate that I think it better cheape in 
Spain." A few blue beads in the possession of Smith now 
caught the eye of Powhatan, and aroused his curiosity and 
avarice. The wary captain pretended to be loth to part 
with them, as being of a "most rare substance of the colour 
of the skyes, and not to be worn but by the greatest kings 
in the world. This made him half madde to be the owner 
of such strange Iewels," and, to obtain them, he readily 
paid an immense quantity of corn, esteeming himself still 
the gainer. The trade in blue beads, after this, became a 
royal monopoly. 



164 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



The party returned to Jamestown; but only to experi- 
ence greater privation and hardship than ever. 

The town took fire, and much of their provisions, cloth- 
ing, and other means of comfort was destroyed. The 
winter was bitterly cold, and nearly the whole colony, 
together with the crews of the ships, were possessed with 
an insane desire to search for gold, to the neglect of the 
labors necessary to secure health and prosperity. From 
these causes more than half their number perished. 

The Indians, seeing their weakness, became insolent and 
exacting, and, but for Smith, whose prompt and energetic 
action, without actual bloodshed, subdued and brought 
them to terms, they might have completely overawed, 
and perhaps have extirpated the colony. Those whom 
the English took prisoners insisted that the hostilities 
were in accordance with the orders of Powhatan: but 
he, on the other hand, averred that it was the work of 
some of his unruly subordinates. The conciliatory mes- 
sage was brought by "his dearest daughter Pocahontas," 
whose appearance ever had the most potent influence with 
the brave man for whom she felt such filial attachment, 
and who was bound to her by every tie of gratitude and 
affection. 

Upon the 2d of June, 1608, Captain Smith, with four- 
teen companions — one half "gentlemen," the rest "sol- 
diers" — undertook his celebrated exploration of Chesa- 
peake Bay. Their conveyance was a large open barge. 

They first shaped their course for the isles lying off 
Cape Charles, still known as Smith's Isles, and thence 
reentered the bay. Passing Cape Charles, they saw "two 
grim and stout salvages," armed with bone-headed lances, 
who fearlessly questioned them as to whence they came 
and whither they were bound. They were subjects of 
the Werowance of Accomack, on the eastern shore of 
the bay; and, being kindly entreated, responded with 



INDIAN'S OF VIRGINIA. 



165 



equal civility, and directed the English to their king's 
head- quarters. 

They found the chief to be the "comliest, proper, civill 
savage" that they had ever held communion with. He 
gave a most singular account of a pestilence which had 
not long before carried off the greater portion of his people. 
Two children had died, probably of some infectious dis- 
ease, and "some extreame passions, or dreaming visions, 
phantasies, or affection moued their parents againe to revisit 
their dead carkases, whose benummed bodies reflected to 
the eyes of the beholders such delightfull countenances as 
though they had regained their vitall spirits." Great 
crowds gathered to see this spectacle, nearly all of whom, 
shortly after, died of some unknown disease. 

These Indians spoke the Powhatan dialect, and enter- 
tained Smith with glowing descriptions of the beauties 
and advantages of the bay, to the northward. Proceed- 
ing on their voyage, the navigators entered the river of 
Wighcocomoco, on the eastern shore, where the inhabit- 
ants exhibited great rage and hostility, but perceiving that 
no harm was intended them, with true savage caprice, fell 
to dancing and singing, in wonder and merriment at the 
novel spectacle. No good water was to be obtained here, 
and Smith with his crew made short tarrying. Still coast- 
ing along the eastern portion of the bay, they reached the 
Cuskarawaok, where great troops of savages followed them 
along the bank, climbing into the trees, and discharging 
their arrows with "the greatest passion they could ex- 
presse of their anger." As the party could not by signs 
give them to understand that they came peacefully, a dis- 
charge of pistol-shot was directed, which produced the 
usual effect, scattering the Indians in every direction. On 
landing, not a native could be found : the English there- 
fore left a few beads, bells, looking-glasses, and bits of 
copper in the huts and returned on board their barge. 



166 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Next morning the poor simple savages, dismissing all 
fear, gathered round them to the number, as appeared, of 
two or three thousand, eager to offer whatever was in their 
I power to bestow' for "a little bead" or other trivial toy. 

These people were the Sarapinagh, Nause, Arseek, and 
I Mantaquak, and they showed such readiness to trade, that 
! Smith pronounced them the "best marchants of all other 
! salvages." They gave wonderful accounts of the power- 
ful and warlike Massawomekes, who lived to the north- 
! ward, and were identical with the Iroquois or Six Nations. 
Some of the crew falling sick, and the rest becoming 
weary and discontented with their unaccustomed fatigue 
| and exposure, Smith, much against his inclination, turned 
towards home, "leaving the bay some nine miles broad, 
at nine and ten fadom water." Entering the Potomac, on 
the 16th of June, it was determined to explore it, as the 
sick men had recovered. No Indians were seen until the 
] company had passed thirty miles up the river ; but, ar- 
| riving at a creek in the neighborhood of Onawmanient, 
j "the woods were layd with ambuscado's, to the number 
| of three or foure thousand salvages, so strangely paynted, 
1 1 grimed and disguised, shouting, yelling and crying as so 
| many spirits from hell could not have shewed more terri- 
| ble. Many brauado's they made," but a discharge of buh 
I lets, over the surface of the water, quickly changed their 
mood. Arms were flung down, hostages given, and court- 
| esy and kindness succeeded the truculent demeanor which 
was first exhibited. By the account of the Indians, Pow- 
hatan had directed this intended attack: and, if their re- 
presentation was true, he was stimulated to such a course 
by sundry of Smith's enemies at Jamestown. 

The boat's crew made their way as far up as the river 
was navigable, encountering various other tribes, some of 
whom were friendly, and others hostile. The thunder of 
the English weapons never failed to awe and subdue them. 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



167 



Ever hankering after the precious metals, the adventurers 
were attracted by glittering particles in the bed of various 
streams; and, making it a constant object of inquiry, they 
were led by some Indians, subject to the king of Pataw- 
omeke, to a noted mine, on the little stream of Quiough. 
It was on a rocky mount, and the material sought, when 
dug out with shells and hatchets, sparkled like antimony. 
The Indians were accustomed to wash and cleanse it, and 
then, putting it in small bags, "sell it all ouer the country, 
to paint their bodyes, faces or idolls; which made them 
looke like Blackamoores dusted over with siluer." New- 
port asserted that the contents of some of those bags, when 
assayed in England, proved to be exceedingly rich in silver ; 
but all that Smith and his men collected was worthless. 

On the way towards Jamestown, as the barge lay in 
shoal water, the crew amused themselves by spearing fish, 
which were exceedingly plenty. Captain Smith, using his 
sword for this purpose, drew up a fish, ("not knowing her 
condition,) being much of the fashion of a Thornback, 
but a long tayle like a riding rodde, whereon the middest 
is a most poysoned sting, of two or three inches long, 
bearded like a saw on each side, which she struck into the 
wrist of his arme neare an inch and a halfe." The swelling 
and pain consequent upon this, were so great that the 
brave captain, despairing of recovery, ordered his own 
grave to be dug ; which was accordingly done on a neigh- 
boring island. His time, however, had not yet come: the 
physician of the party succeeded in relieving him, inso- 
much that, that very night "hee ate of the fish to his 
supper." 

As they returned to their old quarters, the Indians 
judged from their appearance that they had been engaged 
in notable wars; an idea which they failed not to encour- 
age, averring that all the spoil brought home was taken 
from the redoubtable Massawomekes. 



168 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

At Jamestown all was found in disorder and misery, as 
was generally the case when the master-spirit was absent. 
Thus ended the first exploration of the unknown waters 
of the Chesapeake, leaving the English still in doubt as 
to its extent, and still hopeful of eventually finding a pass- 
age thereby to the South Seas ! 

On the 24th of July, a second expedition was undertaken 
up the bay, by Smith, with a boat's crew of twelve men. 
The Indians of Kecoughtan, with whom they spent several 
days, exulted greatly in the supposition that the English 
were out on a war expedition against their dreaded ene- 
mies, the Massawomekes. 

Proceeding up the bay, more than half the party were 
prostrated by the diseases of the climate, and in this crip- 
pled condition they came upon seven or eight canoes, 
filled with Indians of the warlike tribe they were supposed 
to be in search of. Seeing that the English showed no 
fear, but prepared briskly for an engagement, these Mas- 
sawomekes concluded that discretion was the better part 
of valor, and fled to the shore. Being tempted by the 
offer of some trifling toys, they at last came out to the 
barge unarmed, bringing presents of provisions, targets, 
skins, and rude implements of warfare. They had been 
engaged in war with the Indians of the Tockwogh or 
Sassafras river, as their fresh wounds bore witness. 

They disappeared during the following night, and the 
explorers made their way into the river of Tockwogh. 
Seeing the Massawomeke weapons, the Tockwoghs were 
in ecstasy, supposing that their enemies had been defeated ; 
and led Smith up to their fortified town: "Men, women' 
and children, with daunces, songs, fruit, furres, and what 
they had, stretching their best abilities to expresse their 
loues." 

Here Smith made some stay, sending messengers to 
invite a deputation from the renowned Sasquesahanocks 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



169 



to visit him. Sixty of "those gyant-like people," accord- 
ingly came down from their country, bringing presents, 
and holding bold and familiar intercourse with the stran- 
gers. The daily devotional exercises of prayers and psalms, 
which our pious Captain regularly observed, were re- 
sponded to, on the part of the wondering savages, by 
strange ceremonies of their own. 

" They began in a most passionate manner, to hold vp 
their hands to the Sunne, with a most feareful song, then 
imbracing our captaine, they began to adore him in like 
manner: though he rebuked them, yet they proceeded till 
their song was finished: which done, with a most strange 
furious action, and a hellish voyce, began an oration of 
their loues." 

They then clothed him with rich skins and mantles, and 
proffering beads and toys, declared that they, and all they 
had, were at his service, if he would but lend his assistance 
against the terrible Massawomekes. 

Returning to examine the river Rapahanock, Smith fell 
in with a former acquaintance, one Mosco, of Wighcoco- 
moco. He was doubtless a half-breed, and was supposed 
to be some Frenchman's son, as he rejoiced in the distin- 
guishing mark of a "thicke, black, bush beard, and the 
Salvages seldome haue any at all." 

The English fortified their boat by making a breast- 
work around the gun-wale, of the Massawomeke shields, 
which were so thickly plated as to resist the arrows of the 
savages. This stood them in good stead in divers skir- 
mishes with the Rapahanocks. On one occasion, thirty or 
forty of that tribe so disguised themselves with bushes 
and branches, that, as they stood discharging their arrows 
upon the edge of the river, the English supposed their 
array to be a natural growth of shrubs. 

Mosco accompanied Smith in his visits to many nations 
on the Chesapeake, and proved of no little service, whether 



170 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the reception at their hands was friendly or hostile. The 
good will of a party of Manahocks was gained by means 
of favor shown to a wounded prisoner, whom Mosco would 
fain have dispatched— "never was dog more furious 
against a beare, than Mosco was to have beat out his 
braines." They questioned this captive, who was called 
Amorolock, about his own and the adjoining tribes, and 
demanded of him why his people had attacked peaceful 
strangers. "The poore salvage mildly answered," that 
they had heard that the English were "a people come 
from under the world to take their world from them." 
He described the Monacans as friendly to his tribe, and 
said that they lived in the mountainous country to the 
west, "by small rivers, liuing upon rootes and fruits, but 
chiefly by hunting. The Massawomeks did dwell vpon a 
great water, and had many boats, and so many men that 
they made warre with all the world." 

In this, and the preceding voyage, the whole of the 
extensive bay of Chesapeake, was explored, together with 
the lower portions of the principal rivers emptying into 
it; and an accurate chart of the whole country still bears 
witness to the skill and perseverance of the brave com- 
mander. Curious sketches of native chiefs, and of en- 
counters between them and the English, accompany the 
maps which illustrate the quaint and interesting narrative 
from which this portion of our history is drawn. 

Before returning to Jamestown, the party sailed for the 
southern shores, and passed up the Elizabeth river into 
the "Chisapeack" country. They saw but few dwellings, 
surrounded by garden plots, but were struck with the 
magnificent growth of pines which lined the banks. Thence 
coasting along the shore, they came to the mouth of the 
Nandsamund, where a few Indians were engaged in fish- 
ing. These fled in affright, but the English landing, and 
leaving some attractive trifles where they would find them, 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



171 



their demeanor was soon changed. Singing and dancing, 
they invited the party to enter the river, and one of them 
came on board the barge. Complying with the request, 
Smith went up the stream seven or eight miles, when exten- 
sive corn fields were seen. Perceiving some signs of treach- 
ery, he would not proceed farther, but endeavored to regain 
the open water with all possible expedition. His fears 
proved to be well grounded; for on the way down, arrows 
were poured into the boat from either side of the river by 
hundreds of Indians, while seven or eight canoes filled 
with armed men followed "to see the conclusion." Turn- 
ing upon these, the English, by a volley from their mus- 
kets, soon drove the savages on shore and seized the canoes. 

The Indians, seeing their invaluable canoes in the ene- 
mies' power, to save them from destruction readily laid 
down their arms; and, upon further communication, agreed 
to deliver up their king's bow and arrows, and to furnish 
four hundred baskets of corn to avert the threatened 
vengeance of the terrible strangers. 



CHAPTER III. 

CORONATION OF POWHATAN SMITH'S VISIT TO WEROWOCOMOCO 

FOR SUPPLIES TREACHERY OF POWHATAN SMITH A SECOND 

TIME PRESERVED BY POCAHONTAS VISIT TO PAMUNKY 

FIGHT WITH THE KING OF PASPAHEGH — ASCENDANCY 
OF THE ENGLISH. 

In the ensuing September, Smith was formally made 
president of the colony at Jamestown, and set himself 
promptly to correct abuses and perfect the company in 
the military exercises so suited to his own inclinations, 
and so essential in their isolated and dangerous position. 



172 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The wandering savages would collect in astonishment to 
see these performances, standing "in amazement to behold 
how a fyle would batter a tree, where he would make them 
a marke to shoot at." 

Newport, soon after, made his appearance, bringing out 
from England many adventurers ill-suited to the life before 
them in the new country: "thirty carpenters, husband- 
men, gardiners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and dig- 
gers vp of trees' roots," says Smith, would have been 
worth a thousand of them. By the same arrival, came a 
large boat, brought out in five pieces, to be used in further 
explorations in search of the South Sea, and a crown, with 
brilliant trappings and regalia for the solemn coronation 
of Powhatan. Smith speaks with great contempt of this 
transaction: the "costly novelties had beene much better 
well spared than so ill-spent," for they had the king's "fa- 
vour much better only for a playne peece of Copper, till 
this stately kind of soliciting made him so much overvalue 
himself that he respected vs as much as nothing at all." 

The captain, with four companions, volunteered to go to 
Werowocomoco, and invite Powhatan to come to James- 
town and receive his presents. Arriving at the village, 
they found that the chief was thirty miles away from 
home; but a messenger was dispatched for him, and, 
meanwhile, his daughter Pocahontas exerted herself, 'to the 
best of her ability, to divert and entertain her guests. 
This was done after a strange fashion. A masquerade dance 
of some thirty young women, nearly naked, was ushered 
in by such a "hydeous noise and shrieking," that the Eng- 
lish, seized on some old men who stood by, as hostages, 
thinking that treachery was intended. They were relieved 
from apprehension by the assurances of Pocahontas, and 
the pageant proceeded. The leader of the dance was decked 
with a "fayre paire of buck's homes on her head, and an 
Otter's skinne at her girdle." The others were also horned, 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



173 



and painted and equipped, "every one with their severall 
devises. These fiends with most hellish shouts and cryes, 
rushing from among the trees, cast themselues in a ring 
about the fire, singing and dauncing with most excellent ill- 
variety." Afterwards, when Smith had entered one of their 
wigwams, "all these Nymphs more tormented him than 
ever with crowding, pressing and hanging about him, most 
tediously crying, Love you not me? love you not me?" 

Upon Powhatan's return, he proudly refused to go to 
Jamestown for his presents, standing upon his dignity as 
a king ; and the robes and trinkets were accordingly sent 
round to Werowocomoco by water. The coronation scene 
must have been ludicrous in the extreme: "the presents 
were brought him, his Bason and Ewer, Bed and furni- 
ture set vp, his scarlet cloke and apparell with much adoe 
put on him, being persuaded by Namontack, they would 
not hurt him : but a foule trouble there was to make him 
kneele to receiue his Crowne, he neither knowing the 
maiesty nor meaning of a crown, nor bending of the knee, 
endured so many perswasions, examples and instructions 
as tyred them all ; at last, by leaning hard on his should- 
ers, he a little stooped, and three having the crowne in 
their hands, put it on his head, when, by the warning of a 
pistoll the Boats were prepared with such a volley of shot, 
that the King start vp with a horrible feare till he saw all 
was well." 

After this, Newport, with one hundred and twenty men, 
made some unimportant explorations, above the falls, 
among the Monacans. Their continual greedy search for 
mines of the precious metals interfered with useful opera- 
tions and discoveries. 

The Indians now became unwilling to trade, and Pow- 
hatan seemed to have adopted the policy of starving out 
the colony. We can hardly justify the course of Smith 
in enforcing supplies, on any other plea than that of ne- 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 

cessitj; but certain it is, that he alone seemed to have that 
power and influence over the simple savages which could 
secure at once their love and fear. 

Powhatan having at last agreed to furnish a ship-load 
of corn, if the English would build him a house, and fur- 
nish him with a grindstone, a cock and hen, some arms, 
copper and beads, five men were sent to Werowocomoco 
to commence operations. Three of these were Dutchmen. 

To carry out this contract, and procure the promised 
corn, Smith started for the camp of Powhatan towards the 
last of December, (1608,) accompanied by twenty-seven 
men m the barge and pinnace, while a number of others 
crossed the country to build the proposed house. At War- 
raskoyack, the friendly king cautioned Mm against being 
deceived by Powhatan's expressions of kindness, insisting 
that treachery was intended. 

Christmas was spent by the party at Kecoughtan, on the 
left bank of J ames' river, near its mouth ; and merry cheer 
was made upon game and oysters. They reached Wero- 
wocomoco on the 12th of January, and landed with much 
difficulty, as the river was bordered with ice, to break 
through which they were obliged to wade waist-deep, "a 
flight-shot through this muddy frozen oase." 

Powhatan gave them venison and turkies for their 
immediate use, but when the subject of the corn was 
broached, he protested that he and his people had little or 
none, and demanded forty swords in case he should pro- 
cure forty baskets. Smith replied sternly, upbraiding him 
for duplicity and faithlessness, and cautioning him not to 
provoke hostilities where friendship only was intended. 
The wily chief, on the other hand, made many deprecatory 
speeches, continually urging Smith to direct his men to 
lay down their arms, that the conference should appear to 
be peaceful, and the Indians feel at ease and in safety, 
while bringing in their corn. 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



175 



After much bargaining and haggling, a small quantity 
of corn was procured, and Powhatan made a most plausi- 
ble and characteristic speech to persuade Smith that noth- 
ing could be farther from his intention than hostility. Can 
you suppose, said he, that I, a man of age and experience, 
having outlived three generations of my people, should 
be "so simple as not to know it is better to eate good 
meate, lye well and sleepe quietly with my women and 
children, laugh and be merry with you, haue copper, 
hatchets, or what I want being your friend : than be forced 
to flie from all, to lie cold in the woods, feede vpon acornes, 
rootes, and such trash, and be so hunted by you that I can 
neither rest, eate nor sleepe; but my tyred men must 
watch, and if a twig but breake, every one cryeth, there 
commeth Captaine Smith." 

Thus the time was spent in useless discourse, and Smith, 
perceiving that the Indians were only watching for an 
opportunity to attack him unawares, ordered the barge to 
be brought to shore, and the pittance of corn to be stowed 
on board. Powhatan then disappeared, but immediately 
sent his warriors to surround the house and cut off Smith 
while the body of the English were engaged with the barge. 

Aided only by one companion, the valiant captain rushed 
forth, "with his pistoll, sword and target," and "made 
such a passage among these naked Diuels, that, at his first 
shoot, they next him tumbled one ouer another." Seeing 
that Smith had rejoined his company, Powhatan pretended 
that he had sent his people to guard the corn from being 
stolen, and renewed his protestations of friendship. 

The boats being left ashore by the tide, the captain was 
obliged to spend the night on shore. Powhatan now con- 
ceived himself sure of his victims, and gathered all his 
people, with the intention of surprising Smith under cover 
of the night. "Notwithstanding the eternal all-seeing 
God did preuent him, and by a strange meanes. For Poca- 



176 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



hontas, his dearest iewell and daughter, in that darke night 
came through the irksome woods, and told our Captaine 
greate cheare should be sent ys by and by; but Powhatan ' 
and all the power he could make, would after come and 
kiU vs all, if they that brought it could not kill vs with 
oure owne weapons when we were at supper. Therefore 
if we would Hue, she wished vs presently to be gone. 
Such things as she delighted in he would have giuen her; 
but with the teares running downe her cheekes, she said 
she durst not be seen to haue any ; for if Powhatan should 
know it she were but dead, and so she ranne away by her- 
selfe as she came." 

One can readily imagine the distress of the poor child 
at feeling thus compelled, by her affection for her English 
friend, to become unfaithful to her father and her own 
people. 

The feast was sent in shortly after, by a number of 
strong warriors, who were very earnest in their invitation 
to the party to lay down their arms and fall to. The 
matches which the English kept burning met with their 
decided disapproval, the smoke, as they averred, making 
them sick. Smith, being forewarned, did not fail to spend 
the night in vigilance, and sent word to Powhatan that he 
felt well convinced of his villanous intentions, and should 
be prepared for him. The Dutchmen, who were with the 
king, were all along supposed to be implicated in his treach- 
ery, being inimical to Smith, and glad of an opportunity to 
destroy him. After his departure from Werowocomoco, j 
two of them hastened to Jamestown, and, by various pre- j 
tences, obtained a quantity of arms, which, with the assist- 
ance of some Indian companions, they carried off to Pow- 
hatan. In return for this assistance, he promised them 
immunity from the havoc that should overtake the colony, 
and high office and power in his own service. 

Continuing his search for provision, Smith arrived at 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



177 



I Pamunky, where Opechancanough received him with ap- 
| parent kindness, but showed no readiness to trade. Smith 
i reminded him of former promises and injuries, and ex- 
| pressed a determination to obtain supplies; proffering just 
I payment. The chief managed to decoy the captain and 
I his "old frfteene'' into his house, exhibiting some baskets 
! of corn, which he alleged were procured with great difh- 
! culty, but in the meantime some seven hundred armed 
| warriors, by his orders, surrounded the building. 

Our brave captain, first exhorting his men to show no 
i signs of fear, now sternly addressed the king, challenging 
I him to single combat, with equal arms, upon an island in 
| the river. Opechancanough still pretended good will and 
| friendship, and attempted to entice Smith out at the door, 
! by promises of munificent presents : "the bait was guarded 
| with at least two hundred men, and thirty lying vnder a 
| great tree (that lay thwart, as a barricado) each his arrow 
j nocked ready to shoot." 

Smith, perceiving that prompt action was now necessary, 
' sprang upon the king, and, holding him by the fore-lock 
\ with one hand, while, with the other, he held a cocked 
| pistol to his breast, he led him forth among his people. 
Opechancanough, completely cowed, delivered up his arms, 
and all his warriors, amazed at the Englishman's audacity, 
laid theirs upon the ground. 

Still keeping hold of the chief's hair, Smith made a brief 
oration, threatening terrible vengeance if a drop of Eng- 
j lish blood should be spilt, and declaring that if they would 
| not sell him corn he would freight his ship with their car- 
| casses. He promised, moreover, continued friendship if 
! no farther cause for complaint were given. All now made 
| friendly protestations, and brought in abundance of pro- 
| vision ; but, as Smith lay down to recruit himself with a 
little sleep, a great number of the savages rushed in to 
overpower him. This attack was repelled as successfully 
12 

I 



178 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



and promptly as the first. The king in a lengthy speech 
excused and explained the movement, and the day ended 
in peaceful trade and barter. 

At this time arrived one Eichard Wyffin, who had ven- 
turously made his way alone through the wilderness to 
announce to Smith a great loss which the colony had met 
with in the death of Grosnoll and eight companions. They 
had started in a skiff for the Isle of Hogs, and were upset 
by a gale "(that extreame frozen time)" and drowned. 
Wyffin had stopped at Powhatan's head-quarters, and only 
escaped destruction by the kindness of the Englishman's fast 
friend Pocahontas. She " hid him for a time, and sent them 
who pursued him the cleane contrary way to seeke him." 

Concealing this disastrous intelligence from his follow- 
ers, Captain Smith set Opechancanough at liberty, and 
again embarked, intending, ere his return to Jamestown, 
to secure the person of Powhatan. That chief had issued 
general orders for the destruction of Smith, and every 
where, as the boat passed along the river bank, crowds of 
Indians would appear, bringing corn in baskets, and offer- 
ing it to the company if they would come for it unarmed. 
Their intention was evidently to draw the English into an 
ambuscade. The captain succeeded in surprising one of 
these parties, and obtaining their provision. 

Some of them, who consented to trade, supplied the 
English with poisoned food, which was eaten by Smith 
and others, but the poison did not prove sufficiently potent 
to destroy their lives. Suspicion fell upon a vigorous 
young warrior named Wecuttanow, as the author of this 
treachery; but he, having forty or fifty companions with 
him, "so proudly braued it as though he expected to in- 
counter a revenge. — Which the President (Smith) perceiv- 
ing in the midst of his company, did not onely beate, but 
spurned him like a dogge, as scorning to doe him any 
worse mischiefe." 



INDIANS -OF VIRGINIA. 



179 



At other places where provision was sought, it was plain 
that the Indians were themselves in want, and "imparted 
that little they had with snch complaints and tears from 
the eyes of women and children as he had beene too cruell 
to haue beene a Christian that would not^haue beene satis- 
fied and moued with compassion." 

Powhatan, cautioned by "those damned Dutchmen," 
had left Werowocomoco, with all his effects, before Smith 
arrived there, and the plan of making him prisoner was 
therefore abandoned. Here Smith breaks out into a spirited 
justification of his conduct and purposes, complaining that 
fault had been found with him, by some, for cruelty and 
harshness, and by others for want of energy and determin- 
ation. He draws a strong contrast between the proceed- 
ings of the English colony and the manner in which the 
Spaniards usually followed up their discoveries. It was 
not pleasing, he says, to some, that he had temporized with 
such a treacherous people, and "that he washed not the 
ground with their blouds, nor showed such strange inven- 
tions in mangling, murdering, ransacking, and destroying, 
(as did the Spanyards,) the simple bodies of such ignorant 
soules." 

The renegade Dutchmen had a place of rendezvous near 
Jamestown, known as the "glasse house," whither they 
resorted, with their Indian associates, to carry on their sys- 
tem of pilfering arms and other articles from the colony. 
Captain Smith making a visit to this spot, with the inten- 
tion of arresting one of them, named Francis, whom he 
had heard to be there, was set upon, as he returned alone, 
by the king of Paspahegh, "a most strong stout salvage," 
and a terrible personal encounter ensued. The Indian j 
closed upon him, so that he could make no use of his fal- I 
chion, and, by sheer strength, dragged him into the river. I 
After a desperate struggle, Smith succeeded in grasping the | 
savage by the throat, and in drawing his weapon. " Seeing i , 



180 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



how pitifully he begged for his life, he led him prisoner 
to James Towne, and put him in chajnes." His women 
and children came every day to visit him, bringing pres- 
ents to propitiate the English. Being carelessly guarded, 
the king finally made his escape. In attempts to recover 
| him, some fighting and bloodshed ensued, and two In- 
dians, named Kemp and Tussore, "the two most exact vil- 
^ laines in all the Countrey," were taken prisoners. Smith, 
with a corps of soldiery, proceeding to punish the Indians 
on the Chickahominy, passed by Paspahegh, and there con- 
cluded a peace with the natives. They at first ventured 
to attack him, but unable to resist the English weapons, 
they threw down their arms, and sent forward a young 
warrior, called Okaning, to make an oration. 

He represented that his chief, in effecting an escape, had 
but followed the instincts of nature; that fowls, beasts, 
and fishes strove to avoid captivity and snares, and why 
should not man be allowed so universal a privilege? He 
added that, if the English would not live at peace with 
them, the tribe must abandon the country, and the sup- 
plies which the colony had heretofore obtained from them 
be thereby cut off. 

The power and influence of Smith among the savages 
was infinitely increased by a circumstance which occurred 
immediately after his return to J amestown. A pistol had 
been stolen by a Chickahominy Indian, and his two broth- 
ers, supposed to be privy to the theft, had been seized, to 
secure its return. One of them was sent in search of the 
missing article, assured that his brother should be hanged 
if it was not forthcoming within twelve hours. Smith, 
"pitying the poore naked Salvage in the dungeon, sent him 
victuall and some Char-coale for a fire : ere midnight, his 
brother returned with the Pistoll, but the poore Salvage in 
the dungeon was so smoothered with the smoake he had 
made, and so pittiously burnt," that he appeared to be 



INDIAN'S OF VIRGINIA. 



181 



dead. His brother, overwhelmed with grief, uttered such 
touching lamentations over the body, that Captain Smith, 
although feeling little hope of success, assured him that 
he would bring the dead Indian to life, provided he and 
his fellows would give over their thieving. Energetic 
treatment restored the poor fellow to consciousness, and, 
his burns being dressed, the simple pair were sent on 
their way, each with a small present, to spread the report, 
far and near, that Captain Smith had power to restore the 
dead to life. Not long after, several Indians were killed 
by the explosion of a quantity of powder, which they 
were attempting to dry upon a plate of armor, as they had 
seen the English do. " These and many other such pretty 
Accidents, so amazed and frighted both Powhatan and all 
his people," that they came in from all quarters, returning 
stolen property, and begging for favour and peace: "and 
all the country," says the narrator, "became absolutely as 
free for vs, as for themselues." 



CHAPTER IT, 

DISTRESS OF THE COLONIES— MARTIN AND WEST'S SETTLEMENTS 

ARRIVAL OF LORD DE LA WARRE RETALIATIONS UFON THE 

NATIVES SEIZURE OF POCAHONTAS : HER MARRIAGE 

PEACE WITH THE INDIANS rOCAHONTAS VISITS 

ENGLAND: HER DEATH DEATH OF POW- 
HATAN PORY'S SETTLEMENT. 

While Captain Smith remained in America, and con- 
tinued in power, he maintained his authority over the 
natives. In a grievous famine that succeeded the events 
we have just detailed, they proved of infinite service in 
providing the wild products of the forest for the starving 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



colonists. Many of the English were sent out to live with 
the savages, and learn their arts of gathering and prepar- 
ing the roots and other edibles that must take the place 
of corn. These were treated with every kindness by the 
Indians, "of whom," says Smith, "there was more hope 
to make better Christians and good subjects than the one- 
halfe of those that counterfeited themselues both/' Kemp 
and Tussore, who had been set at liberty, remained there- 
i after staunch adherents to the English interests. Sundry 
malcontents belonging to the colony had fled into the 
woods, thinking to live in ease among the natives, whom 
they promised revenge upon their old conqueror, the 
president. Kemp, however, instead of giving ear to these 
persuasions, fed them "with this law, who would not work, 
must not eate, till they were neere starued indeede, con- 
tinually threatening to beat them to death;" and finally 
carried them forcibly back to Captain Smith. 

In the early part of the summer of 1609, large supplies 
came over from England, and a great number of factious 
and disorderly adventurers were brought into the new 
settlement. Unwilling to submit to the authority of the 
president, insatiate after mines of gold and silver, cow- 
ardly in battle, and cruel and treacherous in peace:' their 
distress proved commensurate with their unthrifr. At 
Xansemund, a company, under one Captain Martin, after 
wantonly provoking the ill-will of the natives, was unable 
to resist their attacks ; and another division, under West 
which attempted a settlement at the falls of James' river,' 
proved equally inefficient and impolitic. " The poore sal- 
vages that daily brought in their contributions to the 
President, that disorderly company so tormented those 
poore soules, by stealing their corne, robbing their gar- 
dens, beating them, breaking their houses and keeping 
some prisoners, that they daily complained to Captaine 
Smith, he had brought them for protectors worse enemies 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



183 



than the Monaeans themselues: they desired pardon if 
hereafter they defended themselues." 

Carrying out this intention, the Indians fell upon the 
fort immediately after Smith's departure, he having set 
sail for Jamestown. His vessel taking ground before he had 
proceeded far, he was called upon to interfere, and brought 
matters to an amicable conclusion, removing the English 
from the inconvenient spot they had selected for their 
habitation into the pleasant country of Powhatan. 

Before reaching Jamestown, Captain Smith met with so 
severe an accident by the firing of a bag of gun-powder, 
that he was thereafter incapacitated from further service 
in the colony. So terribly was his flesh torn and burned, 
that, to relieve the pain, he instantly threw himself into 
the river, from which he was with difficulty rescued. It 
being impossible to procure the necessary medical assist- 
ance for the cure of so extensive an injury, he took pas- 
sage for England by the first opportunity, and never again 
revisited the colony he had planted and supported with 
such singular devotion, energy, and courage. The fate of 
the two principal of the Dutch conspirators against his 
life, is thus chronicled: ' ; But to see the justice of God 
vpon these Dutchmen: — Adam and Francis were fled 
againe to Powhatan, to whom they promised, at the arri- 
vall of my Lord (La Warre), what wonders they would 
doe, would he suffer them but to goe to him. But the 
king seeing they would be gone, replyed ; you that would 
haiie betrayed Captaine Smith to me, will certainely be- 
tray me to this great Lord for your peace; so caused his 
men to beat out their braines." 

Smith's departure was the signal for general defection 
among the Indians. They seized the boats of the settlers 
under Martin and West ; who, unable to keep their ground, 
returned to Jamestown, with the loss of nearly half their 
men. A party of thirty or forty, bound upon a trading 



184 INDIAN EACE8 OF AMERICA. 

expedition, was set upon by Powhatan and Ms warriors, 
and all except two were slain. One of these, a boy, named 
Henry Spilman, was preserved by the intervention of 
Pocahontas, and sent to live among the Patawomekes. 
Reduced to the greatest extremity, the English were 
obliged to barter their very arms for provisions, thus add- 
ing to the power of the enemy in the same ratio that they 
weakened their own resources. Famine, pestilence, and 
savage invasion reduced the colony, which before had 
numbered five hundred inhabitants, to about sixty miser- 
able and helpless wretches, within the short space of six 
months from the time that Smith set sail. The crude pro- 
ducts of the forest formed their principal food; 'may, so 
great was our famine," proceeds the narrative, "that a Sal- 
uag-e we slew and buried, the poorer sort took him vp 
againe and eat him, and so did diuers one another, boyled 
and stewed with roots and herbs: And one amongst" the 
rest did kill his wife, powdered her and had eaten part of 
her before it was knowne, for which he was executed as 
he well deserued." 

Upon the arrival of a ship, with Sir Thomas Gates and 
company, all the unfortunate settlers, abandoning their 
town, took passage with him for England. At the com- 
mencement of the voyage, they fell in with Lord La 
Warre, who was on his way to Jamestown, bringing with 
him large supplies of men and necessaries ; and all returned 
together to Jamestown. 

Fortunately the Indians had not, as yet, destroyed the 
fort, and the numbers and efficiency of the whites were 
so far increased, that they were "able to tame the furie 
and trecherie of the Saluages." 

On the loth of June (1610) Captain Argall, being en- 
gaged in a trading expedition among the Patawomekes, 
found there the young prisoner, Henry Spilman, who had 
met with kind treatment, and by whose intervention 



/ 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



185 



abundance of corn was procured. Frequent mention is 
made of Spilman in subsequent portions of Virginian 
history. He was killed by the Potomac Indians, in 1623, 
! while on a trading expedition up the river. Having gone 
on shore with some of his company, some difficulty arose, 
and, after a short skirmish, those on board the boat, "heard 
a great brute among the Salvages a shore, and saw a mans 
head throwne downe the banke, whereupon they weighed 
anchor and returned home, but how he was surprised or 
slaine is uncertaine." 

That the colonists were not slow in making use of their 
newly-acquired power over the natives in their vicinity, 
sufficiently appears from the manner in which they re- 
venged some injuries received from those of Paspahegh. 
Not satisfied with burning their town, they deliberately j 
put to death the queen and her children, who had fallen 
| into their hands. 

In the following year the Appomatuck Indians, for 
some offences, were driven from their homes, and their 
corn was seized, "without the loss of any except some few 
Saluages." The manner in which peaceful intercourse 
j was at last established with Powhatan, however it may be 
justified upon the plea of necessity, reflects but little credit 
upon the English. Argall, in the year 1613, (according 
to some chroniclers,) while up the Potomac in search of 
corn, heard from the sachem Japazaws that Pocahontas, 
who had not been seen at Jamestown since Smith's depart- 
ure, was residing among his people. The captain deter- 
mined not to lose the opportunity to secure so valuable a 
hostage, and having, by the assistance of Japazaws, de- 
coyed her on board his ship, he made her prisoner. The 
treacherous Potomac sachem pretended great distress; 
"the old lew and his wife began to howle and crie as fast 
as Pocahontas," but appeared pacified when Argall told 
them that the princess should be well treated, and restored 



186 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

as soon as Powhatan would make restitution of the goods 
he had purloined and plundered from the colony. 

When the emperor learned of this transaction, the 
"vnwelcome newes much troubled him, because he loued 
both his daughter and the English commodities well;" 
and he left Pocahontas in the enemies' hands for several 
months before he deigned to pay the least attention to 
their demands. It has been supposed, and with great 
show of reason, that the kind-hearted girl had lost favor 
with her father by her sympathy with the English, and by 
endeavoring to save them at the time of the massacres 
which preceded the last arrival; and that this was the 
cause of her retirement to Potomac. 

When Powhatan at last consented to treat, his offers 
were entirely unsatisfactory to the English, and another 
long interval elapsed without any communication from 
him. Meantime, an ardent attachment had sprung up 
between Pocahontas and a young Englishman of the col- 
ony named J ohn Eolfe, "an honest gentleman and of good 
behaviour." When it was at last concluded to use open 
force to reduce Powhatan to compliance with the English 
requisitions, a large force proceeded to the chief's head- 
quarters, by water, taking the princess with them. The In- 
dians exhibited an insolent and warlike demeanor, but were 
easily put to flight, and their town was burned. Pursuing 
their advantage, the invading party proceeded up the river 
to Matchot, where, a truce being agreed upon, two of Pow- 
hatan's sons came to visit their sister, and, overjoyed at 
finding her well and kindly cared for, promised their best 
endeavors to bring matters to a peaceful issue. Eolfe, with 
one companion, had an interview with Opechancanough, 
who also declared that he would strive to persuade the 
king to compliance with the English proposals. 

When Powhatan heard of the proposed marriage of his 
daughter, his anger and resentment towards the whites 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



187 



seemed to be appeased. He sent his brother Opitchapan, 
and others of his family, to witness the ceremony, and 
readily permitted the old terms of trade and intimacy to 
be renewed. Pocahontas and John Kolfe were married 
about the first of April, 1613. 

The Chickahominies, hearing that Powhatan was in 
league with the colony, felt little inclined to be upon ill- 
terms with so powerful a confederacy ; and, having made 
advances, a treaty of friendship was entered into with all 
due forms and ceremonies. 

Not contented with the security against Powhatan's 
hostility which the possession of his beloved daughter af- 
forded, the colonial governor, Sir Thomas Dale, sought 
yet another hostage from the king; and in 1614 sent John 
Kolfe and Ealph Hamor to his court for this purpose. 

The aged chief received them with courtesy and kind- 
ness, and appeared pleased and gratified at the accounts 
which they gave him of Pocahontas' satisfaction with her 
new alliance, and the religion and customs of the English. 
When the purpose of the mission was made known to 
him, which was no other than the obtaining possession of 
his youngest daughter, upon pretext of marrying her 
nobly, Powhatan gravely refused compliance. He would 
never trust himself, he said, in the power of the English; 
and therefore, if he should send away his child, whom he 
now loved as his life, and beyond all his other numerous 
offspring, it would be never again to behold her. "My 
brother," he added, "hath a pledge, one of my daughters, 
which so long as she lives shall be sufficient, when she 
dies he shall have another: I hold it not a brotherly part 
to desire to bereave me of my two children at once." 

Pocahontas was carefully educated in the Christian 
religion, which she appeared sincerely to embrace. She 
nourished the warmest affection for her husband —upon 
his part faithfully returned; and what with these new ties, 



153 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



and the enlarged ideas attendant upon education and inter- 
course with intelligent Europeans, she seemed entirely to 
lose all desire of associating with her own people. 

Eoife and his wife sailed for England in 1616, and 
reached ' Plymouth on the 12th of June. Great interest 
was excited by their arrival, both at court and among 
many people of distinction. Captain Smith prepared an 
address to the cpieen upon this occasion, setting forth in 
quaint, but touching language, the continued kindness 
and valuable services received by himself and the colony 
at large from Pocahontas. He commended her to his 
royal mistress, as "the first Christian euer of that Nation, 
the first Virginian euer spake English, or had a childe in 
marriage by an Englishman, a matter surely worthy a 
Princes vnderstanding.'' 

"When Smith met with his preserver at Branford, where 
she was staying with her husband after her arrival in Eng- 
land, his demeanor did not at first satisfy her, Etiquette, 
and the restraints of English customs, prevented him per- 
haps from making such demonstration of affection as she 
had expected from her adopted father. " After a modest 
salutation;" he says, "without any word, she turned her- 
self about, obscured her face as not seeming well contented ; 
and in that humour, her husband, with diuers others, we 
all left her two or three houres, repenting myself to haue 
writ shee could speake English." 

This pique, or whatever emotion it may have been, soon 
passed off, and she began to converse freely upon old times 
and scenes. She said she would always call Smith her 
father, that he should call her child, and ever consider her 
as his "Countrieman." It seems that she had been told 
that he was dead, and only learned the truth on reaching 
England. Powhatan had been anxious to get intelligence 
of his old rival, and specially commissioned an Indian of 
his council, named Uttomatomakkin, whom he sent over 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



189 



to England, to find out Captain Smith; to see the Eng- 
lishmen's God, their queen, and their prince; and to 
ascertain the number of the country's inhabitants. 

This last direction he endeavored to perform by carrying 
a stick with him, and making a notch for every man he 
saw, "but he was quickly wearie of that task." 

Captain Argall, Eolfe, and others, having been furnished 
with an outfit for Virginia, in 1617, Pocahontas (known 
as Eebecca, since her baptism and conversion,) was about 
to revisit her native country, but was taken suddenly ill, 
and died at Gravesend. "Shee made not more sorrow for 
her vnexpected death, than ioy to the beholders to heare 
and see her make so religious and godly an end." She 
left one child, Thomas Eolfe, who afterwards resided in 
Virginia, and from whom many families in that state still 
trace their origin. The celebrated John Eandolph, of 
Eoanoke, was one of his descendants. 

At Jamestown, Argall found matters in a bad state. 
Little was attended to but the raising of tobacco, which 
was seen growing in the streets and market place. The 
savages had become bold and familiar, "as frequent in the 
colonists' houses as themselues, whereby they were become 
expert in the English arms." They broke out, in some 
| instances, into open murder and robbery, but the old chief 
| Opechancanough, when redress was demanded, disclaimed 
i all knowledge of or participation in the outrages. 

The venerable Powhatan died in April, of the year 
1618, and was succeeded by his second brother Itopatin. 
The new king, as well as the formidable Opechancanough, 
seemed desirous of continuing at peace with the whites, 
j Despite his protestations of friendship, and renewal of 
solemn leagues and covenants, the old king of Pamaunky 
was still held in sore suspicion, and it is plain that Indian 
power, if roused against the colony, was growing formida- 
ble. The historian expresses his amazement 1 ' to understand 



190 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



how strangely the Salvages had beene taught the use of 
arms, and imploied in hunting and fowling with our fowl- 
ing pieces, and our men rooting in the ground about 
Tobacco like Swine." 

John Pory, secretary of the colony, undertook a settle- 
ment on the eastern shore in 1621. Namenacus, king of 
Pawtuxent, visited him, and expressed his good-will in 
style characteristic of Indian metaphor. Baring his breast, 
says Pory, he asked "if we saw any deformity vpon it,' 
we told him, No; No more, said he, is the inside, but as 
sincere and pure; therefore come freely to my Countrie 
and welcome." The English were accompanied by Thomas 
Salvage as interpreter; a youth who, sixteen years before, 
had been left with Powhatan for the purpose of acquiring 
the Indian language, and who afterwards proved of great 
service to the colony. 

When the party reached the dwelling of ' Namenacus 
and his brother Wamanato, they were most hospitably 
received and entertained. Boiled oysters were set before 
them in a "brasse Kettle as bright without as within," 
and the alliance was cemented by exchange of presents 
Wamanato promised to keep what he had received 
"whilst he lived, and burie them with Mm being dead. 
Hee much wondered at our Bible," proceeds Pory, "but 
much more to heare it was the law of our God, and the 
first Chapter of Genesis expounded of Adam and Eve, 
and simple marriage; to which he replied he was like 
Adam in one thing, for he neuer had but one wife at 
once; but he, as all the rest, seemed more willing of other 
discourses they better vnderstood." 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



191 



CHAPTER V. . 

THE VIRGINIA MASSACRES OF 1622, AND OF 1641 (OR 1644) 

DEATH OF OPECHANCANOUGH. 

The spring of 1622 was memorable for a deep-laid and 
partially-successful plot, attributed in no small measure to 
the contrivance of Opechancanough, for the extermina- 
tion of the English colony. The settlers had come to look 
upon the Indians with a mixture of condescension and 
contempt; they admitted them freely into their houses; 
suffered them to acquire the use of English weapons ; and 
took little or no precautions against an outbreak. The 
plantations and villages of the whites were widely sepa- 
rated and ill-protected, offering an easy opportunity for a 
sudden and concerted attack. 

No suspicions whatever were entertained of any hostile 
intent upon the part of the savages until just before the 
massacre commenced, and then there was neither time nor 
opportunity to convey the intelligence to the distant set- 
tlements. The plot was so arranged that upon a day 
appointed, the 22d of March, the Indians spread them- 
selves throughout the settlements, and, going into the 
houses, or joining the laborers in the field, on pretence of 
trade, took the first opportunity to kill those with whom 
they were communicating, by a blow from behind. 

No less than three hundred and forty-seven of the Eng- 
lish perished, the most extensive massacre at any one spot 
being that in Martin's Hundred, only seven miles from 
Jamestown. The savages spared not their best friends, 
with whom they had held amicable intercourse for years, 
but availed themselves of that very intimacy to carry out 
their bloody design with the greater secrecy and impu- 
nity. One only showed signs of relenting. "The slaugh- 
ter had been universall if God had not put it into the 



192 



INDIAN KACES OF AMEBIC A. 



heart of an Indian, who lying in the house of one Pace, 
was urged by another Indian, his brother, that lay with 
him the night before, to kill Pace as he should do Perry, 
which was his friend, being so commanded from their king." 

Instead of complying, he rose, and made known to his 
host the plan of the next day's attack. Pace carried the 
intelligence to Jamestown with the utmost expedition, 
and the caution was spread as far as possible. Wherever 
the Indians saw the English upon their guard, no attempt 
! was made upon them, even where there was a gross dis- 
parity in numbers. One of Smith's old guard, Nathaniel 
Causie, after receiving a severe wound, seized an axe, and 
put those to flight who had set upon him. In another 
instance, two men repelled the attack of sixty savages, 
and a Mr. Baldwin, at Warraskoyack, defended his house 
J and its inmates single handed, the Indians being unwilling 
; to stand his tire. Women, children, and unarmed men ; all 
I who could be taken unawares, were murdered, and their 
bodies hacked and mutilated. No tie of friendship or 
former favor proved strong enough to stay the hand of the 
remorseless foe. A Mr. Thorp, who had shown every kind- 
ness to the Indians, and especially to the king, was one 
of the victims, his "dead corps being abused with such j 
spight and scorne as is unfit to be heard with ciuill eares." 
He had formerly built a convenient house for the sachem, 
" after the English fashion, in which he took such pleasure, 
I especially in the locke and key, which he soe admired as 
locking and vnlocking his doore a hundred times a day, 
he thought no device in the world comparable to it." 

It was supposed that the motive which operated most 
forcibly upon Opechancanough, in urging him to these 
enormities, was the death of Nemattanow, one of his favor- 
ites, styled "Jack of the Feather, because hee commonly 
was most strangely adorned with them." This Indian was 
shot, about a fortnight before the massacre, for the mur- 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



193 



der of a man named Morgan, whom he enticed from home | 
on pretence of trade. L 

Little active efforts were made to revenge the uprising 
of the Indians. After the bloody day in March, no gen- 
eral engagement took place between the English and the 
savages nntil the ensuing autumn, when an army of three 
hundred colonists marched to Nandsamund, and laid waste 
the country. 

The bitterest animosity prevailed for many years be- 
tween the rival claimants to the country— the Indians and 
the pale faces, who were supplanting them, insidiously, or by 
open warfare. The old chief Opechancanough remained 
long a thorn in the sides of the colonists ; and, as late as 
1641, nine years after the conclusion of a settled peace, he 
organized a conspiracy, which resulted in the destruction of 
even a larger number of the whites than fell in the mas- 
sacre of 1622. The time of the second uprising is fixed, 
by some, three years later than the date above mentioned. 

After that event, the war was pursued with the energy 
that the dangerous circumstances of the colony required; 
and the aged chief, falling into the hands of the English, 
was carried captive to Jamestown. Regard to his infirmi- 
ties and age restrained the authorities from showing him 
indignity or unkindness, but he was shot by a private sol- 
dier, in revenge, as is supposed, for some former injury. 
Although so enfeebled by the weight of years as to be 
utterly helpless, and unable even to raise his eyelids with- 
out assistance, the venerable chief still maintained his dig- 
nity and firmness; and, just before his death, rebuked 
Berkley, the governor, for suffering his people to crowd 
around and gaze upon him. 

It is said, by some historians, that he was not a native 
of Virginia, but that he was reputed among his subjects 
I and the neighboring tribes, to have been formerly a king 
over a nation far to the south-west. 



194 



INDIAN RACES OF MEKICA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

smith's account of the numbers, appearance, and habits of 
the indians. 

« * * * To the door 
The red man slowly drags the enormous bear, 
Slain in the chestnut thicket, or flings down 
The deer from his strong shoulders." — Bryant. 

Virginia, like every other division of the eastern coast 
of North America, was but thinly inhabited when the 
white settlements first commenced. As hunting formed 
the chief means of subsistence to the natives during a 
considerable portion of the year, it was impracticable for 
them to live closely congregated. There were computed to 
be, within sixty miles of the settlement of Jamestown, some 
five thousand Indians, of whom not quite one-third were 
men serviceable in war. The lower portion of the Pow- 
hatan or James' river, below the falls, passed through the 
country of the great king and tribe who bore the same name : 
among the mountains at its source dwelt the Monacans. 
The great nations were sub-divided into a number of small- 
er tribes, each subject to its own Werowance, or king. 

The stature and general appearance of different races 
among them presented considerable discrepancy. Of the 
Sasquesahanocks, Smith says: "Such great and well-pro- 
portioned men are seldome seene, for they seemed like 
giants to the English.— For their language, it may well 
beseeme their proportions, sounding from them as a voyce 
in a vault." One of their chief Werowances measured 
three-quarters of a yard about the calf of his leg, "and 
all the rest of his limbs so answerable to that proportion, 
that he seemed the goodliest man we ever beheld. His 
hayre, the one side, was long, the other shore close, with 
a ridge like a cock's combe." 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 195 



These people were dressed in bear and wolf-skins : " some 
1 1 have Cassacks made of Beare's heads and skinnes, that a 
j | man's head goes through the skinnes neck, and the eares 
j ! of the Beare fastened to his shoulders, the nose and teeth 
j ! hanging downe his breas^anotker Beare's face split be- 
! | hind him, and at the end of the nose hung a paw.— One 
| j had the head of a Wolfe hanging in a chaine for a iewell; 
1 1 his tobacco pipe three quarters of a yard long, prettily 
j i carued with a Bird, a Deere, or some such devise at the 
1 1 great end, sufficient to beat out ones braines." 

Further to the South, upon the Eappahanock, and other 
1 1 adjacent rivers, dwelt an inferior people, of small stature. 
\ The Monacans, Mannahocks, Sasquesahanocks, and other j 
' tribes, which environed the Powhatan country, were so 
j i dissimilar in their language, that they could only commu- j 
j ; nicate by interpretation. 

The clothing of all these Indians consisted principally 
i of skins, dressed with or without the hair, according to 
I the season. Occasionally would be seen a mantle neatly 
and thickly covered with feathers, so fastened as to appear 
like a natural growth ; but many of the savages contented 
themselves with very simple and primitive habiliments, 
woven from grass and leaves. Tattooing was common, espe- 
cially among the women, and the red powdered root of the 
pocone, mixed with oil to the consistency of paint, served 
to satisfy their barbaric taste for fancifully coloring the 
body. He was "the most gallant who was the most mon- 
strous to behold." Their ears were generally bored, and 
pendants of copper and other ornaments were attached. 
"Some of their men weare in those holes a small green 
and yellow coloured snake, near half a yarde in length, 
which, crawling and lapping herself about his necke, 
oftentimes would familiarly kisse his lips." 

Their wigwams were much after the usual fashion, warm, 
but smoky, and stood in the midst of the planting grounds 



196 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



where they raised their beans, corn, and pompions. About 
the dwellings of some, mulberry-trees were planted, and 
fine groves of the same grew naturally in various parts of 
the country. The English made an attempt to raise silk 
here, "and surely the wormes prospered excellent well till 
the master-workman fell sicke. During which time they 
were eaten with rats." To effect a clearing, the custom 
of the natives was to girdle the trees by bruising and burn- 
ing the bark near the root; and, in the ensuing year, the 
soil was rudely loosened for the reception of the seed. 

During a great part of the year they were obliged to 
resort to the natural productions of the forest, sea, and 
rivers for their support; and, as their diet varied with the 
season, "even as the deere and wild beasts, they seemed 
fat and leane, strong and weake." In the spring they re- 
lied chiefly upon fish and small game; in summer, before 
the green corn was ready for use, they were obliged to eke 
out a subsistence with roots, acorns, and shell-fish. Some 
species of acorns, besides being useful as food, furnished an 
oil with which the natives anointed their heads and joints. 

Smith enumerates many of the wild fruits and game 
which were sought by the Indians, describing them in 
quaint and forcible language. It is singular to observe 
how the original Indian names of plants and animals have 
been altered and corrupted on their adoption by the Eng- 
lish. All will recognize the "putchamin," whose "fruit is 
like a medlar; it is first greene, then yellow, then red, 
when it is ripe; if it be not ripe, it will draw a mans 
mouth awry, with much torment." Broth or bread made 
from the "Chechmquamin," (Chincopin), was considered a 
great dainty. 

With a slight change of orthography, the " Aroughcun, 
a beast much like a badger, but which useth to live on 
trees as squirrels doe," becomes familiar, as do also the 
"Opassum" and "Mussascus." 



INDIANS OF VIRGINIA. 



197 



Among the fish, a kind of ray attracted the worthy cap- 
tain's special admiration, being "so like the picture of St. 
George his dragon as possible can be, except his legs and 
wings." 

The Indians fished with nets, woven with no little skill ; 
with hooks of bone; with the spear; and with arrows 
attached to lines. For other game, the principal weapon 
was the bow and arrow. The arrows were generally 
headed with bone or flint, but sometimes with the spur 
of a turkey or a bird's bill. It is astonishing how the stone 
arrow-heads, which are, to this day, found scattered over 
our whole country, could have been shaped, or attached 
to the reed with any degree of firmness. Smith says that 
a small bone was worn constantly at the "bracert" for the 
J purpose of manufacturing them — probably to hold the 
I flint while it was chipped into shape by another stone — 
and that a strong glue, obtained by boiling deer's horns 
and sinews, served to fasten them securely. Yery soon 
after intercourse with Europeans commenced, these rude 
implements were superseded by those of iron. 

Deer were hunted with most effect, by driving in large 
companies, dispersed through the woods. When a single 
hunter undertook the pursuit, it was usual for him to dis- 
guise himself in the skin of a deer, thrusting his arm 
through the neck into the head, which was so stuffed as 
! to resemble that of the living animal. Thus accoutred he 
would gradually approach his prey, imitating the motions 
of a deer as nearly as possible, stopping occasionally, and 
appearing to be occupied in licking his body, until near 
enough, for a shot. 

o 

In war these Indians pursued much the same course as 
the other eastern nations. On one occasion, at Mattapa- 
nient, they entertained Smith and his companions with a 
sham fight, one division taking the part of Monacans, and 
the other of Powhatans. After the first discharge of 



198 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



arrows, lie says, "they gave such horrible shouts and 
screeches as so many infernall hell-hounds could not haue ! 
made them more terrible." During the whole perform- 
ance, " their actions, voyces, and gestures, were so strained 
to the height of their quality and nature, that the strange- 
nesse thereof made it seeny> very delightful." Their 
martial music consisted of the discordant sounds produced 
by rude drums and rattles. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONDUCT OF EARLY VOYAGERS — 'ARRIVAL OF THE MAY-FLOWER 

SAMOSET TISQTJANTUM MASSASOIT— WESTON'S COLONY— 

CAUNBITANT'S CONSPIRACY TRADE IN FIRE-ARMS 

THOMAS MORTON — DEATH OF MASSASOIT AND 
ALEXANDER, AND ACCESSION OF PHILIP. 

"Erewhile, where yon gay spires their brightness rear, 
Trees waved, and the brown hunter's shouts were loud 
Amid the forest ; and the bounding deer 
Fled at the glancing plume, and the gaunt wolf yelled near." 

Bryant. 

It is lamentable to reflect that in the primitive dealings 
between the venturous Europeans and aborigines of Amer- 
ica, the kindly welcome and the hospitable reception were 
the part of the savage, and treachery, kidnapping and 
murder too frequently that of the civilized and nominally 
Christian visitor. 

It appears to have been matter of common custom 
among these unscrupulous adventurers to seize by force 
or fraud on the persons of their simple entertainers, and 
to carry them off as curiosities to the distant shores of 
Europe. Columbus, with kindly motives, brought several 
of the West Indian natives to the Spanish court; — others, 
whom his follower Pinzon had kidnapped, he restored 
to their friends. Cabot, in his memorable expedition, 
followed the same example, and the early French discov- 



200 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



erers were peculiarly culpable in this respect. Most atro- 
cious of all was the conduct of Thomas Hunt, who, in 
1614, at Monhigon, enticed twenty -four of these unfortu- 
nate people on board his vessel, and carried them to 
Malaga, as slaves— an inhuman piece of treachery, to 
which the English were probably indebted for much of 
the subsequent hostilities evinced by the Indians of 
New England. 

On the 6th of September, 1620, the May-Flower, freighted 
with fortyrone adventurous enthusiasts, the germ of a 
western empire, sailed from Plymouth in England; and 
on the 9th of the following November arrived on the 
barren and inclement shores of Cape Cod. A few days 
afterwards a reconnoitering party caught sight of a small 
number of the natives, who, however, fled at their ap- 
proach. On the 8th of December, a slight and desultory 
action occurred, the Indians attempting to surprise the 
Pilgrims by night. They were, however, discomfited and 
compelled to retreat, leaving, among other trophies, eight- 
een arrows, "headed with brass, some with harts-horns, 
and others with eagles' claws." 

On the 11th of December (O. S.), memorable in the 
annals of America, the little band of pilgrims landed, and 
fixed their first settlement at Plymouth. The Indians, it 
would appear, looked with evil eyes upon the pious colo- 
nists; for, says an old narrator, "they got all the powaws 
in the country, who, for three days together, in a horid 
and devilish manner, did curse and execrate them with 
their conjurations, which assembly and service they held 
in a dark and dismal swamp. Behold how Satan labored 
to hinder the gospel from coming into New England." 

The appearance of the friendly chief Samoset, at the 
settlement ; his welcome in broken English ; his manners, 
and discourse; are quaintly detailed by the historians of 
the colony. He had acquired some knowledge of the 




INTERVIEW OF SJiJVOSET WITH THE PILGRIMS. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 201 

English language by intercourse with the crews and mas- 
ters of vessels employed in fishing upon the coast, and 
readily communicated such information as the settlers 
required concerning the nature of the country and its 
inhabitants. He informed them of the manner in which 
the district where they were located had been depopulated 
only four years previous, by some incurable disease; a 
circumstance to which the feeble colony not improbably 
owed its preservation. 

Before the bold and friendly advances made by Samoset, 
the only communication between the colonists and the 
original inhabitants had been of a hostile character. The 
natural fears and jealousy of the savages, and the supersti- 
tious horror of the English at the heathenish powwaws 
and incantations which they witnessed, together with the 
want of a common language, had kept the little company of 
adventurers in a state of complete isolation during the whole 
of the cold and dreary winter that succeeded their arrival. 

It was in the month of March that a peaceful communi- 
cation was established with the natives, through the inter- 
vention of Samoset. He introduced, among other of his 
companions, the noted Tisquantum, or Squanto, who was 
one of the twenty-four kidnapped by Hunt, at a former 
period. By his knowledge of the country and coast, and 
his acquaintance with their language, Squanto became of 
great service to the colonists, and continued their friend 
until his death, which took place in 1622, while he was 
on his passage down the coast, in the capacity of pilot to 
an expedition fitted out for the purpose of purchasing 
supplies of corn and other necessaries. Much of romantic 
interest attaches to the history and adventures of this ser- 
viceable Indian, both during his captivity and after his 
restoration to his own country. Escaping by the as- 
sistance of certain kindly-disposed monks, from Spain, 
where he, with his companions, had been sold in slavery, 



202 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



he reached England, and was taken into the employment 
of a London merchant, named Slaney, by whom he was 
sent as pilot, or in some other capacity, to various places 
on the eastern coast. 

He was brought back to Patuxet, the Indian name of 
the country in which the pilgrims first landed, by Captain 
Thomas Dermer, who sailed in the employ of Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges, during the summer preceding the arrival 
of the May-Mower. After his introduction by Samoset, 
he remained with his new allies, instructing them in the 
mode of raising corn, to which they were strangers ; in the 
best methods of fishing; and making himself of inestima- 
ble service. 

By the friendly influence of Squanto and Samoset, who 
acted as interpreters, a league of amity and mutual pro- 
tection was effected between the colony and the powerful 
sachem Massasoit, father of the still more celebrated Philip. 
Massasoit's head-quarters were at Mount Hope, on ISTarra- 
gansett bay, overlooking the present town of Bristol; a 
striking feature in a landscape of remarkable beauty, and 
commanding from its summit a magnificent prospect of 
island, bay and ocean. His authority extended over all 
the Indian tribes living in the vicinity of the Plymouth 
colony, and he held an uncertain but influential sway over 
portions of other nations far into the interior. 

In the month of July, 1621, some of the principal 
inhabitants of the settlement, among others, Edward 
Winslow and Stephen Hopkins, went on an embassy to 
the court of this chief, as well to observe his power and 
resources as to renew the amicable treaties before entered 
into. They carried such attractive ornaments and apparel 
as would please the eye of a savage. 

They were accompanied by Squanto ; and although their 
entertainment, both as respects food and lodgings, was but 
sorry, yet they were received in a spirit of friendliness. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



203 



They obtained much useful information concerning the 
| surrounding tribes, and also learned the power and num- 
i bers of the Narragansetts. 

The ship Fortune arrived at Plymouth, in the month 
of November, bringing out thirty-five emigrants; but no 
provisions for their support; in consequence of which, the 
colony was not long after greatly distressed by want. To 
add to their troubles and fears, the Narragansetts sent 
them a hostile message, expressed by a bundle of arrows 
tied with a snake skin. The skin was returned filled with 
bullets, and the governor made the spirited reply— "that, 
if they loved war rather than peace, they might begin 
when they would." 

The louses were thenceforth inclosed in palings, and 
every precaution was taken, by watch and ward, to guard 
against a sudden attack. 
I During the ensuing year, 1622, two ships were sent over 
j from England by a Mr. Thomas Weston, with a consider- 
able number of colonists ; in one of them came " sixty lusty 
men." A new settlement was formed by them at Wesagus- 
quaset, on Massachusetts Bay, known as Weston's colony. 

The dishonesty and wastefulness of these new comers 
produced very injurious effects upon the welfare of the 
colony at large. The hostility of the Indians was excited 
by their depredations, and, if we may believe the old nar- 
rations, they were even base enough to circulate among 
the natives false reports of an intention on the part of the 
Plymouth authorities to attack them, and forcibly seize their 
corn and provisions, the time being one of great scarcity. 

Weston's men were in possession of a small vessel, in 
which they proposed to their Plymouth neighbors to un- 
dertake an expedition round Cape Cod, for the purpose of 
trading for supplies from the natives. After two unsuccess- 
ful attempts, having been delayed by rough weather, they 
Lcceeded in reaching Nauset and Mattachiest, where they 



20-i 



INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 



obtained a quantity of corn and beans. It was on this 
voyage that they lost their guide and interpreter Squanto. 
He had been a highly useful and faithful coadjutor to the 
colonists; his only faults being a natural inclination to 
presume upon his importance in his intercourse with his 
countrymen. This led him to exalt himself in their eyes 
by tales of his great influence over the English, and ex- 
aggerated reports of their powers and skill. He affirmed 
that they had the plague buried in the ground, which they 
could, at pleasure, let loose for the destruction of the In- 
dians. On one occasion he was believed, for some purpose 
of his own, to have raised a false alarm of an attack by the 
Narragansetts, accompanied by Massasoit. This sachem 
became at last so exasperated against Squanto, that, on di- 
vers occasions, he sought to put him to death, and the colo- 
nists had no small difficulty in preserving their interpreter. 

Great rivalry and jealousy existed between Squanto and 
Hobamak, another friendly Indian, who served the settlers 
in a similar capacity. 

In the year 1623, the people at Weston's plantation, 
principally, as appears, from their own folly and improvi- 
dence, were reduced to a state of extreme misery and des- 
titution. They became scattered in small parties, obtaining 
a precarious subsistence by gathering shell-fish, and by 
working for or pilfering from the natives. On one occa- 
sion they actually hanged a man for stealing, in order to 
pacify the Indians ; and although it appears probable that 
he whom they executed was, in reality, guilty, yet they 
have been accused of sparing the principal offender, as an 
able-bodied and serviceable member of the community, 
and hanging, in his stead, an old and decrepid weaver. 
See "Hudibras" upon this point. 

An extensive conspiracy was formed among various 
tribes of the Massachusetts Indians, and others, extending, 
as some supposed, even to the inhabitants of the island 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



205 



of Capewack, or Martha's Vineyard, for the purpose of 
destroying Weston's colony, and perhaps that at Plymouth 
also. Caunbitant, or Corbitant, one of Massasoit's most 
distinguished subordinate chiefs, was a prime mover in this 
plot. He had always entertained hostile feelings towards 
the English, and regarded their increase and prosperity as 
of fatal tendency to the welfare of his own people. The 
design was made known to some of the chief men of Ply- 
mouth, by Massasoit, (whom the leaders of the conspiracy 
had endeavored to draw into their plans,) in gratitude for 
their having restored him from a dangerous fit of sickness. 
Having been, as he supposed, at the point of death, he 
sent for assistance to the colony, and Mr. Edward Wins- 
low and John Hamden, (supposed by some writers to 
have been the same afterwards so celebrated in English 
history for his resistance to royal encroachments) with 
Hobamak as interpreter, were dispatched to his assistance. 

In order to check the purposed uprising, Captain Miles 
Standish, with only eight men, proceeded to Wesagusqua- 
set, and attacking the Indians, in conjunction with Wes- 
ton's men, overpowered them, killing six of their number; 
among the rest, the noted and dangerous Wittuwamat. 
This chief had displayed great boldness and spirit. On 
the arrival of Standish, he, with others of his company, 
declared that he was in no wise ignorant of the English- 
man's intentions. '"Tell Standish,' said he, 'we know 
he is come to kill us, but let him begin when he dare.' 
Not long after, many would come to the fort, and whet their 
knives before him, with many braving speeches. One 
amongst the rest was by Wittuwamat's bragging he had a 
knife that on the handle had a woman's face, but at home 
I have one that hath killed both French and English, and 
that hath a man's face upon it, and by and by these two 
must marry; but this here by and by shall see, and by 
and by eat but not speake." Of the manner of this In- 



206 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



dian's death, and that of Peksuot, one of his principal 
companions, killed by Standish himself in a desperate 
hand to hand struggle, Winslow says: "But it is incredi- 
ble how many wounds these two panieses received before 
they died, not making any fearful noise, but catching at 
their weapons and striving to the last." Wittuwamat had 
often expressed great contempt of the English for their 
want of fortitude, declaring that "they died crying, making 
sour faces, more like children than men." A brother of 
this chief, only eighteen years of age, they hanged. 

The "Weston plantation was, however, broken up, the 
survivors, much reduced in numbers by sickness and want, 
setting sail in their vessel for the eastward, to join the 
fishing squadron on the coast: as the old historian has it, 
"here see the effects of pride and vain-glory." Thomas 
| Weston himself, after a singular series of misfortunes, 
! only arrived at Plymouth to learn the disastrous fate of 
I his colony. 

The system of working the land in common was this 
year abandoned by the Plymouth colonists, and a portion 

| of land set apart to each man ; a change which produced 

i the most favorable results. 

In the course of a few years from the formation of the 
Plymouth colony, the Indians, in spite of a royal procla- 
mation forbidding the traffic, began to supply themselves 
with fire-arms and ammunition, the use of which they ac- 
quired with singular facility. The trade for these danger- 
| ous articles first commenced upon the eastern coast, where 
they were brought by English, French and Dutch fishing 
vessels, and was further extended into the interior in 1628, 
by one Thomas Morton, a notable contemner of godliness, 
and long a thorn in the side of the sober colonists. Besides 
his capital offence of teaching the Indians the use of fire- 
arms, and driving a profitable trade with them in these 
deadly weapons, he became, as Morton has it, "a lord of 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 207 

misrule," with a set of disorderly companions who had 
been brought out in the same ship with him. They spent 
what they gained by unlawful trade in " vainly quaffing and 
drinking both wine and strong liquors to great excess — 
setting up a May-pole, drinking and dancing about it, and 
frisking about it like so many fairies, or furies rather." 
This May -pole was cut down by Endicott, and Morton 
was seized and sent to England, where he wrote an "infa- 
mous and scurrilous book '(The New Canaan),' against 
many godly and chiefmen of the country." In 1633, a 
year memorable for the first English settlement on the 
Connecticut, by William Holmes, in spite of the opposi- 
tion of the Dutch, a "pestilent fever" carried off many, 
both of the colonists and Indians thereabout. 

Morton, in his "New England's Memorial," says that 
"It is to be observed that, the spring before this sickness, 
there was a numerous company of flies, which were like, 
for bigness, unto wasps or bumble-bees ; they came out of 
little holes in the ground, and did eat up the green things, 
and made such a constant yelling noise as made the woods 
ring of them, and ready to deafen the hearers." The In- 
dians prophesied sickness from this sign. 

No very serious hostilities occurred between the Ply- 
mouth colonists and the natives, from the period of which 
we have been speaking, until the year 1637, memorable 
for the extirpation of the Pequots. The causes and con- 
duct of this campaign, marked as it was by the most sav- 
age ferocity on the part of both Indians and English, will 
be detailed in a succeeding chapter. 

In the year 1639, Massasoit, or, as he is generally styled 
at this period, "Woosamequen, brought his eldest son Mooa- 
! nam, otherwise called Wamsutta, to the court at Plymouth, 
and solemnly renewed the former league of peace and 
amity with the colony. 



208 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



After the death of the friendly and powerful sachem, 
his sons Wamsutta and Metacomet continued their profes- . 
sion of good- will towards the English. About 1656, they 
presented themselves to the court at Plymouth, and, by 
their own request, received English names. Wamsutta 
was denominated Alexander, and Metacomet, Philip, long 
after a name of terror to the colonies. 

In 1662, Alexander, having been suspected of being 
engaged with the Narragansetts in plans hostile to the, 
English settlers, was taken by surprise, and forcibly car- 
ried to Plymouth. This indignity is said so to have chafed 
his proud spirit, that it threw him into a fever, of which 
he died shortly after. Contradictory reports have been 
handed down to us concerning the manner of his treat- 
ment during this brief captivity, and the circumstances 
attending his death. 

Shortly after this event, Philip, now sachem of Pocanoket, 
came to the court at Plymouth, with renewed acknowledg- 
ments of subjection to the king of England, and promises 
to fulfil all engagements theretofore entered into by him- 
self, his father and brother. He covenanted, moreover, 
not to sell any of his lands to strangers without the 
knowledge and consent of the authorities at Plymouth. 



colonists oor.ro to church a 

DURING THE PERIOD OF THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



209 



CHAPTER II. 

THE NARRAGANSETTS THE PEQUOTS MURDER OF STONE AND 

OLDHAM ENDICOTT'S EXPEDITION THE PEQUOT WAR 

DESTRUCTION OF THE PEQUOT FORT THE TRIBE 

DISPERSED AND SUBDUED. 

"Dark as the frost-nipped leaves that strew the ground, 
The Indian hunter here his shelter found ; 
Here cut his bow, and shaped his arrows true, 
Here built his wigwam and his bark canoe, 
Speared the quick salmon leaping up the fall, 
And slew the deer without the rifle ball; 
Here his young squaw her cradl'ing-tree would choose, 
Singing her chant to hush her swart papoose; 
Here stain her quills, and string her trinkets rude, 
And weave her warrior's wampum in the wood." 

Brainard. 

The islands and western shores of the beautiful bay 
I which still bears their name were, at the time of the first 
| European settlement, in the possession of the great and 
| powerful tribe of the ISTarragansetts. Their dominions 
j extended thirty or forty miles to the westward, as far as 
the country of the Pequots, from whom they were sepa- 
rated by the Pawcatuck river. 

Their chief sachem was the venerable Canonicus, who 
governed the tribe, with the assistance and support of his 
nephew Miantonimo. The celebrated Eoger Williams, the 
founder of the Ehode Island and Providence plantations, 
always noted for his kindness, justice and impartiality j 
towards the natives, was high in favor with the old chief, ! 
and exercised an influence over him, without which his 
power might have been fatally turned against the English. 
Canonicus, he informs us, loved him as a son to the day 
of his death. 

Mr. Williams had been obliged to leave the colony at 



210 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

the eastward, in consequence of his religions opinions, 
which did not coincide with those so strictly interwoven 
with the government and policy of the puritans. He was 
a man of whose enterprise and wisdom the state which lie 
first settled is justly proud, and whose liberal and magnani- 
mous disposition stands out in striking relief when com- 
pared with the intolerant and narrow-minded prejudices 
of his contemporaries. 

Miantonimo is described as a warrior of a tall and 
co mm anding appearance ; proud and magnanimous ; ' ' sub- 
til and cunning in his contrivements;" and of undaunted 
courage. 

The Pequots and Mohegans, who formed but one tribe, 
and were governed during the early period of English 
colonization by one sachem, appear to have emigrated 
from the west not very long before the first landing of 
Europeans on these shores. They were entirely discon- 
nected with the surrounding tribes, with whom they were 
engaged in continual hostilities, and were said to have 
reached the country they then inhabited from the north. 
They probably formed a portion of the Mohican or Mohe- 
gan nation on the Hudson, and arrived at the sea-coast by 
a circuitous route, moving onward in search of better hunt- 
ing grounds, or desirous of the facilities for procuring 
support offered by the productions of the sea. 

In various warlike incursions they had gained a partial 
possession of extensive districts upon the Connecticut river, 
and from them the early Dutch settlers purchased the title 
to the lands they occupied in that region. 

In the year 1634, one Captain Stone, a trader from Vir- 
ginia, of whom the early narrators give rather an evil report, 
having put into the Connecticut river in a small vessel, 
was killed, together with his whole crew, by a party of In- 
dians whom he had suffered to remain on board his vessel. 

Two years later, a Mr. John Oldham was murdered at 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



211 



Block Island, (called Manisses in the Indian tongue,) by a 
body of natives. They were discovered in possession of 
the vessel, and, endeavoring to make their escape, were 
most of them drowned. 

The Narragansetts and Pequots both denied having 
participated in this last outrage, and, as respects Stone and 
his companions, although the Pequots afterwards acknowl- 
edged that some of their people were the guilty parties, 
yet they averred that it was done in retaliation for the 
murder of one of their own sachems by the Dutch, deny- 
ing that they knew any distinction between the Dutch and 
English. 

To revenge the death of Oldham, an expedition was 
fitted out from Massachusetts, with the avowed determina- 
tion of destroying all the male inhabitants of Block Island, 
and of enforcing heavy tribute from the Pequots. Those 
engaged in the undertaking, under the command of Endi- 
cott, landed on the island, ravaged the corn-fields, and 
burned the wigwams of the inhabitants ; but the islanders 
succeeded in concealing themselves in the thickets, so that 
few were killed. Endicott thence proceeded to the Pequot 
country, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Gardiner, 
commander of the garrison at Saybrook, who told him 
that the consequence would only be to "raise a hornet's 
nest about their ears." 

Disembarking near the mouth of the Thames, the 
adventurers were surrounded by a large body of savages, 
mostly unarmed, who questioned them of their purposes 
with much surprise and curiosity. The English demanded 
the murderers, whom they alledged to be harbored there, 
or their heads. The Indians replied that their chief sa- 
chem, Sassacus, was absent, and sent or pretended to send 
parties in search of the persons demanded. Endicott, 
impatient of delay, and suspecting deceit, drove them off, 
after a slight skirmish, and proceeded to lay waste their 



212 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



corn-fields and wigwams, destroying their canoes and doing 
them incalculable mischief. 

The same operations were carried on the next day, upon 
the opposite bank of the river, after which the party set 
sail for home. 

The effect of procedures like these, was such as might 
have been expected. The hostility of the Pequots towards 
the whites was from this period implacable. 

For several years the tribe had been engaged in a desul- 
tory war with the Karragansetts, arising from a quarrel, 
in 1632, respecting the boundary of their respective do- 
mains. Sassacus at once perceived the necessity or policy 
of healing this breach, and procuring the assistance of his 
powerful neighbors in the anticipated struggle. He there- 
fore sent ambassadors to Canonicus, charged with propo- 
sals of treaty, and of union against the usurping English. 

A grand council of the Narragansett sachems was called, 
and the messengers, according to Morton, "used many 
pernicious arguments to move them thereunto, as that the 
English were strangers, and began to overspread their 
country, and would deprive them thereof in time, if they 
were suffered to grow and increase;" that they need not 
"come to open battle with them, but fire their houses, kill 
their cattle, and lie in ambush for them," all with little 
danger to themselves. 

The Narragansetts hesitated, and would not improbably 
have acceded to the proposals but for the intervention and 
persuasion of their friend Eoger Williams. His influence, 
combined with the hope, so dear to an Indian heart, of 
being revenged upon their old adversaries, finally pre- 
vailed. Miantonimo, with a number of other chiefs and 
warriors, proceeded to Boston ; was received with much 
parade ; and concluded a treaty of firm alliance with the 
English, stipulating not to make peace with the Pequots, 
without their assent. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



213 



Meantime, during this same year (1637), the Pequots 
had commenced hostilities by attacking the settlers on the 
Connecticut. They lay concealed about the fort at Say- 
brook, ready to seize any of the little garrison who should 
be found without the walls. 

In several instances they succeeded in making captives, 
whom they tortured to death with their usual savage cru- 
elty. Among the rest, a "godly young man of the name 
of Butterfield," was taken, and roasted alive. 

The boldness, and even temerity of the few occupants 
of the fort, with these horrors staring them in the face, is 
surprising. Gardiner, their governor, on one occasion, 
exasperated a body of Indians who had come forward for 
a species of parley, by mocking, daring, and taunting them 
in their own style of irony and vituperation. 

The colonists appear to have been even more horror- 
stricken and enraged at the blasphemous language of their 
wild opponents, than at their implacable cruelty. "When 
they tortured a prisoner, they would bid him call upon his 
God, and mock and deride him if he did so, in a manner not 
unlike that recorded in the case of a more illustrious sufferer. 

They told Grardiner that they had "killed Englishmen, 
and could kill them like musquitoes;'' and that there was 
one among them who, "if he could kill one more Eng- 
lishman, would be equal with God." 

Joseph Tilly, commander of a trading vessel, a man 
described as "brave and hardy, but passionate and wilful," 
going on shore, incautiously, and against the advice of 
Gardiner, was taken by the savages, and tortured to death 
in the most lingering and cruel manner, being partially 
dismembered, and slowly burned to death by lighted 
splinters thrust into his flesh. His conduct in this ex- 
tremity excited the lasting admiration of his tormentors; 
for, like one of their own braves, he endured all with 
silent fortitude. 



214 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The Indians were accustomed to imitate and deride the 
cries and tokens of pain which they usually elicited from 
the whites, as being unworthy of men, and tolerable only 
in women or children. 

In April of this year (1637), an attack was made upon 
the village of Wethersfield, by a body of Pequots, assisted 
or led by other Indians of the vicinity, whose enmity had 
been excited by some unjust treatment on the part of the 
white inhabitants. Three women and six men of the 
colonists, were killed, and cattle and other property de- 
stroyed or carried off to a considerable extent. Two young 
girls, daughters of one Abraham Swain, were taken and 
carried into captivity. Their release was afterwards ob- 
tained by some Dutch traders, who inveigled a number of 
Pequots on board their vessel, and threatened to throw 
them into the sea if the girls were not delivered up. Dur- 
ing the time that these prisoners were in the power of the 
Indians, they received no injury, but were treated with 
uniform kindness, a circumstance which, with many others 
of the same nature, marks the character of the barbarians 
as being by no means destitute of the finer feelings of 
humanity. 

The settlers on the Connecticut now resolved upon 
active operations against the Pequot tribe. Although the 
whole number of whites upon the river, capable of doing 
military service, did not exceed three hundred, a force of 
ninety men was raised and equipped. Captain John Ma- 
son, a soldier by profession, and a bold, energetic man, 
was appointed to the command of the expedition, and the 
Reverend Mr. Stone, one of the first preachers at Hartford, 
who had accompanied his people across the wilderness, at 
the time of the first settlement of that town, undertook 
the office of chaplain—a position of far greater importance 
and responsibility, in the eyes of our forefathers, than is 
accorded to it at the present day. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



215 



Letters were written to the authorities of Massachusetts, 
requesting assistance, inasmuch as the war was owing, in 
no small measure, to the ill-advised and worse-conducted 
expedition sent forth, as we have before described, by that 
colony. The required aid was readily furnished, and a 
considerable body of men, under the command of Daniel 
Patrick, was sent to the Narragansett sachem, to procure 
his cooperation, and afterwards to join the forces of Mason. 

The little army was further increased by the addition 
of a party of Indians, led by a chief afterwards so cele- 
brated in the annals of the colony, as to deserve more 
than a casual mention upon the occasion of this, his first 
introduction to the reader. 

Uncas, a sachem of the Mohegans, whom we have be- 
fore mentioned as forming a portion of the Pequot tribe, 
had, some time previous to the events which we are now 
recording, rebelled against the authority of Sassacus, his 
superior sachem, to whom he was connected by ties of 
affinity and relationship. 

He is described as having been a man of great strength 
and courage, but grasping, cunning, and treacherous, and 
possessed of little of that magnanimity which, though 
counterbalanced by faults peculiar to his race, distinguished 
his implacable foe, Miantonimo the Narragansett. 

With his followers, a portion of whom were Mohegans, 
and the rest, as is supposed, Indians from the districts on 
the Connecticut, who had joined themselves to his fortunes, 
Uncas now made common cause with the whites against 
his own nation. Gardiner, the commandant at Saybrook, 
to test his fidelity, dispatched him in pursuit of a small 
party of hostile Indians, whose position he had ascertained. 
Uncas accomplished his mission, killing a portion of them, 
and returning with one prisoner. This captive the In- 
dians were allowed by the English to torture to death, and 
they proceeded to pull him asunder, fastening one leg to 



216 



IXDIAST EACES OF A3TERICA. 



a post, and tying a rope to the other, of which they laid 
hold. Underbill, elsewhere characterized as a "bold, bad, 
man," had, on this occasion, the humanity to shorten the 
torment of the victim by a pistol-shot. 

The plan of campaign adopted by Mason, after much 
debate, was to sail for the country of the Karragansetts, 
and there disembarking, to come upon the enemyby land 
from an unexpected direction. 

Canonicus and Miantonimo received the party in a 
friendly manner, approving the design, but proffering no 
assistance. 

Intelligence was here received of the approach of Cap- 
tain Patrick and his men from Massachusetts, but Mason 
determined to lose no time by waiting for their arrival, 
lest information of the movement should in the meantime 
reach the camp of the Pequots. The next day, therefore, 
which was the 4th of June, the vessels, in which the com- 
pany had arrived from Saybrook, set sail for Pequot river, 
manned by a few whites and Indians, while the main 
body proceeded on their march across the country. About 
sixty Indians, led by Uncas, were of the party. 

A large body of Narragansetts and JSTehantics attended 
them on their march, at one time to the number, as was 
supposed, of nearly five hundred. In Indian style, they 
made great demonstration of valor and determination ; but 
as they approached the head-quarters of the terrible tribe 
that had held them so long in awe, their hearts began to 
fail. Many slunk away, .and of those who still hung in 
the rear, none but Uncas and Wequash, a Nehantic sachem, 
were ready to share in the danger of the first attack. 

The Pequot camp was upon the summit of a high 
rounded hill, still known as Pequot hill, in the present 
town of Groton, and was considered by the Indians as 
impregnable. The people of Sassacus had seen the En*- 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



217 



lish vessels pass by, and supposed that danger was for the 
present averted. After a great feast and dance* of exulta- 
tion at their safety and success, the camp was sunk in 
sleep and silence. Mason and his men, who had encamped 
among some rocks near the head of Mystic river, ap- 
proached the Pequot fortification a little before day, on 
the 5th of June. 

The alarm was first given by the barking of a dog, 
followed by a cry from some one within, of "Owanux, 
Owanux" — the Indian term for Englishmen — upon which 
the besiegers rushed forward to the attack. 

The fort was, as usual, inclosed with thick palisades, a 
narrow entrance being left, which was barred by a pile of 
brushwood. Breaking through this, Mason and his com- 
panions fell upon the startled Pequots, and maintained for 
some time an uncertain hand to hand conflict, until, all 
order being lost, he came to the savage determination to 
fire the wigwams. This was done, and the dry materials 
of which these rude dwellings were composed blazed with 
fearful rapidity. 

The warriors fought desperately, but their bow-strings 
snapped from the heat, and the r> arragansetts, now coming 
up, killed all who attempted to escape. The scene within 
was horrible beyond description. The whole number 
i destroyed (mostly by the flames) was supposed to be over 
four hundred, no small portion of which consisted of 
women and children. 

The spirit of the times cannot be better portrayed than 
by citing the description of this tragedy given by Morton : 
"At this time it was a fearful sight to see them thus fry- 
ing in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the 
same ; and horrible was the stink and scent thereof; but 
the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the 
praise thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully 
for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and 



218 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



give them so speedy a victory over so proud, insulting and 
blasphemous an enemy." Dr. Increase Mather, in much 
the same vein, says: "This day we brought six hundred 
Indian souls to hell." 

In looking back upon this massacre, although much 
allowance must be made for the rudeness of the age, and 
the circumstances of terror and anxiety which surrounded 
the early settlers, yet we must confess that here, as on 
other occasions, they exhibited the utmost unscrupulous- 
ness as to the means by which a desired end should be 
accomplished. 

The loss of the attacking party in this engagement was 
trifling in the extreme, only two of their number being 
killed, and about twenty wounded. Captain Patrick with 
his soldiers from Massachusetts, did not reach the scene 
of action in time to take part in it — Underhill, however, 
with twenty men, was of the party. 

The result of this conflict was fatal to the Pequots as a 
nation. After a few unavailing attempts to revenge their 
wrongs, they burned their remaining camp, and com- 
menced their flight to the haunts of their forefathers at 
the westward. 

They were closely pursued by the whites and their 
Indian allies, and hunted and destroyed like wild beasts. 
The last important engagement was in a swamp at Fairfield, 
where they were completely overcome. Most of the war- 
riors were slain, fighting bravely to the last, and the women 
and children were distributed as servants among the 
colonists or shipped as slaves to the West Indies ; " We 
send the male children," says Winthrop, "to Burmuda, by 
Mr. William Pierce, and the women and maid children 
are dispersed about in the towns." It is satisfactory to 
reflect that these wild domestics proved rather a source 
of annoyance than service to their enslavers. 

Sassacus, Mononotto, and a few other Pequot warriors, 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



219 



succeeded in effecting their escape to the Mohawks, who, 
however, put the sachem and most of his companions to 
death, either to oblige the English or the Narragansetts. 

The members of the tribe who still remained in Con- 
necticut, were finally brought into complete subjection. 
Many of them joined the forces of the now powerful 
Uncas; others were distributed between the Narragansetts 
and Mohegans; and no small number were taken and 
deliberately massacred. 

The colonial authorities demanded that all Pequots who 
had been in any way concerned in shedding English 
blood should be slain, and Uncas had no small difficulty 
in retaining his useful allies, and at the same time satisfy- 
ing the powerful strangers whose patronage and protection 
he so assiduously courted. 



CHAPTER III. 

QUARRELS BETWEEN THE NARRAGANSETTS AND MOHEGANS 

UNCAS AND MIANTONIMO THE MOHEGAN LAND CON- 
TROVERSY- — SUBSEQUENT CONDITION OF THE 
PEQUOTS AND MOHEGANS. 

A small body of the Pequots made one more futile 
attempt to settle in their old country; but a company was 
sent against them, and they were driven off; their provi- 
sions were plundered, and their wigwams destroyed. 

The destruction of this powerful tribe left a large extent 
of country unoccupied; to no small portion of which 
Uncas laid claim by virtue of his relationship to Sassacus. 
The power and influence of this subtle and warlike chief 
had become, by this time, vastly extended, not only by 
treaty and alliance with the Europeans, but by continual 
addition to the number of his warriors ; as many strag- 



220 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



gling Pequots, and wanderers from other tribes, were 
eager to join Ms rising fortunes. 

Between liim and Miantonimo, old feelings of jealousy, 
rivalry, and national antipathy were now aroused anew 
by various acts of petty hostility and mutual treachery. 
Uncas and his followers succeeded in exciting in the minds 
of the English a deep and abiding mistrust of the Narra- 
gansetts, which Miantonimo, upon repeated citations before 
the Court at Plymouth, was unable wholly to remove. 
His wisdom, cautiousness, and sagacity, excited the ad- 
miration of all who heard him, but, with all his tact, he 
failed to convince the authorities of his good faith and 
innocent intentions. 

The animosity of the two chiefs at last broke out into 
open hostilities. Miantonimo, accompanied, as was com- 
puted, by over nine hundred warriors, came suddenly 
upon Uncas, who was supported by only about half that 
number of effective followers. Before joining battle, the 
Mohegan sachem challenged his opponent to single combat, 
proposing that the vanquished party should, with his men, 
submit to the victor. 

Miantonimo refusing to accede to this proposal, Uncas, 
according to a preconcerted signal, prostrated himself; and 
his warriors, discharging a flight of arrows, rushed forward 
with such impetuosity that, despite the disparity of num- 
bers, they completely routed the Narragansetts, and drove 
them from the field. 

The chief of the invaders was taken prisoner in his 
flight by Uncas himself, assisted by two other warriors. 
He had been impeded in his motions by an old corslet, 
a piece of defensive armor which had been presented to 
him by an English friend, but which proved fatal to him. 
Seeing that resistance was hopeless, he seated himself upon 
the ground, with true Indian stoicism and silence. 

Uncas took his prisoner to Hartford, and requested the 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



221 



advice of the authorities as to what course he should pur- 
sue respecting him. They referred the question to the 
general court of commissioners for New England, which 
sat at Boston, in September (1643). The court, unwilling 
to undertake the responsibility of ordering the death of 
the illustrious captive, submitted the matter to the decision 
of the clergy, then in high council at the same city. These 
worthies, less scrupulous than the laity, came to the con- 
clusion that his life must pay the forfeit of his attacks 
upon Uncas, and his general turbulence, not to mention 
the fact that he had, in one instance, beaten a follower of 
a sachem who was allied to the English ! 

The unfortunate sachem was therefere redelivered into 
the hands of the Mohegans for execution, and two of the 
English were appointed to attend the proceeding, and see 
that he was put to death without torture. There is some 
discrepancy in the accounts as to the place where Mianto- 
nimo met his fate, but it appears to have been in the 
township of Norwich, where a pile of stones was long 
after pointed out as marking his grave. The manner of 
his death was this: Uncas, with his brother, Wawequa, and 
a party of other Indians, accompanied by the two whites, 
was leading his prisoner along a path, when, at a silent 
signal from the chief, Wawequa buried his tomahawk in 
the skull of the captive from behind. It is said that Uncas 
cut a portion of flesh from the shoulder of his fallen en- 
emy, and eat it, declaring that it was the "sweetest meat 
he ever eat; it made his heart strong." 

The Narragansetts lamented bitterly over the untimely 
end of their famous and beloved sachem, and complained 
of the treachery of Uncas, averring that large quantities of 
wampum had been sent as ransom to the Mohegans, and 
appropriated by them, regardless of the conditions attend- 
ing its mission. 

Pessacus, a brother of Miantonimo, continued to make 



222 INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 

troublesome inroads upon the Mohegan domains, but the 
English still held Uncas in favor, and warned the Narra- 
gansetts that they would support him should he require 
their aid. 

In 1644, the complaints and mutual recriminations of the 
rival tribes were heard and examined by the commissioners 
of the colonies, who decided that Pessacus had not proved 
his charges, and enforced a temporary treaty. This was soon 
violated by the Narragansetts, who continued their depre- 
dations as heretofore; and in the ensuing spring, Pessacus, 
having done great damage to his opponent by predatory 
excursions, finally besieged him in a fort on the Thames, 
where he would probably have reduced him by famine, had 
not supplies been secretly furnished by certain of the English. 

The tyranny and exactions of Uncas over the Pequots 
who had become subject to him, aroused their indignation ; 
while his treachery towards his own people, and alliance 
with the whites, secured him the hostility of every neigh- 
boring tribe. He was engaged in perpetual quarrels with 
Mnigret, a celebrated Nehantic sachem; with Sequassen, 
whose authority at an earlier date extended over the 
Tunxis tribe, at the westward of the Connecticut; and 
with the grieved and revengeful Narragansetts. 

Whenever these interminable disputes were brought 
before the court of the New England commissioners, the 
decisions of that body appear to have favored the Mo- 
hegan. Assisted by the counsel of a crafty and subtle 
Indian, named Foxun or Poxen, who served him in the 
capacity of chief advocate and adviser, and whose wisdom 
and sagacity were widely noted, he generally managed to 
explain away his iniquities ; at least so far as to satisfy an 
audience already prejudiced in his favor. When his crimes 
were not to be concealed, a reprimand and caution were 
generally the extent of his punishment. 

On the other hand, when suspicions arose againsMhe Nar- 

=j 



INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND. 223 

ragansetts, the most prompt and violent proceedings were 
resorted to : the payment of an immense amount of wampum 
was exacted; the delivery of hostages from among the 
principal people of the tribe was demanded ; and threats of 
war and extermination were used to humble and humil- 
iate them. 

In September, 1655, a few of the scattered Pequots who 
had not joined the forces of Uncas, were allowed a resting- 
place by the commissioners, upon a portion of the south- 
eastern sea-coast of Connecticut, and their existence as a 
separate tribe was formally acknowledged. 

This little remnant of the crushed and overthrown na- 
tion, had been, for some time, under the guidance of two 
self-constituted sachems, one commonly called Eobin Cas- 
sinament, a Pequot, and the other Cushawashet, a nephew 
of Ninigret, known among the English as Hermon Garret. 

They had formed small settlements upon the tract now 
allotted to them, which they were allowed to retain upon 
payment of tribute, in wampum, to the colonies, and the 
adoption of a prescribed code of laws. Their governors 
were to be chosen by the English ; and Cushawashet and 
Cassinament received the first appointment. 

It will readily be perceived to what an extent the power 
and control of the colonists over the affairs of the Indians 
in their vicinity, had increased, even at this early period. 
The natives were now glad to settle down under the protec- 
tion of their masters ; to pay yearly tribute as amends for 
former hostilities ; and to hire the lands of which they had 
been so short a time previous the undisturbed possessors. 

It is pitiful to read of the coarse coats, the shovels, the 
hoes, the knives, and jews-harps, in exchange for which 
they had parted with their broad lands. Utterly improvi- 
dent, and incapable of foreseeing, or hopeless of averting 
the ascendancy of the whites, they yielded to their exac- 
tions, and submitted to their dictation. 



224 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Sauntering indolently about the settlements, and wasting 
their energies by excess in the use of the novel means of 
excitement offered by "strong waters," they lost much of 
that native pride, dignity, and self-respect which distin- 
guished them when intercourse with foreigners first com- 
menced. Their numbers, which appear to have been grossly 
exaggerated, even in their most flourishing days, were 
rapidly diminishing; their game was becoming scarce; 
and the refinements and comforts of civilization, rude in- 
deed as compared to what now exists, presented to their 
eyes at the white settlements, only aggravated the con- 
I sciousness of their own poverty and distress. 

The Tunxis and Podunk Indians, who inhabited either 
side of the Connecticut, in the vicinity of the English set- 
tlements ; the Quinnipiaes on the sound, where New Haven 
now stands ; the Nehantics, to the eastward of the river ; and 
the feeble Pequot settlement, were subject to, or in effect, 
under the control of the colonists: Uncas was their "friend 
and fast ally;" and the Narragansetts, though under suspi- 
cion of various treacherous plans, were nominally at peace 
with the whites, and quelled by the terror of their arms. 

This condition of affairs continued, with the exception 
of the great and final struggle between the colonists and 
the natives, known as Philip's war — to be detailed in a suc- 
ceeding article — until the death of Uncas, about the year 
1682. He left the title to his extensive domains involved 
in inextricable confusion. In consequence of deeds and 
grants from himself and his sons Owenoco and Attawan- 
hood, to various individuals among the white settlers, and 
for various purposes, the effect of which conveyances were 
probably unknown to the grantors, numerous contradictory 
claims arose. The same tracts were made over to different 
persons ; one grant would extend over a large portion of 
another; and, to crown all, Uncas, in the year 1659, had 
aliened his whole possessions by deed, regularly witnessed, 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



225 



to John Mason, of Norwich. This conveyance was evi- 
i dently intended by the sachem merely to confer a general 
power as overseer or trustee upon a man whom he con- 
sidered as friendly to his interests, and whose knowledge 
| would prove a protection against the overreaching of pro- 
| posed purchasers. According to the Indian understancl- 
! ing of the transaction was the claim of Mason and his 
! heirs, who arrogated to themselves no further interest or 
authority than that above specified. The Connecticut 
colony, by virtue of a general deed of "surrender of juris- 
diction," obtained from Mason, insisted on an unqualified 
; property in the whole domain. 

Owenoco succeeded his father as sachem of the Mohe- 
I gans, and pursued a similar course to secure his lands, 
! conveying them to the sons of Mason as trustees. His 
Indian improvidence and intemperance ied him to disre- 
j gard this arrangement, and to give deeds of various tracts 
j included in the trust conveyance, without the knowledge 
j or assent of the overseer. In July, of the year 1704, in 
order to settle the conflicting claims of the whites and In- 
dians, and to restore to the tribe the portions illegally 
obtained from them, a royal commission was obtained from 
| England, by some friends of the Mohegans, to examine 
and settle the disputed questions. 

The colony protested against the proceeding, denying 
the authority of the crown to determine upon the matter, 
; and refused to appear before the commissioners. The 
conduct of the case being ex parte, a decision was given in 
favor of the Mohegans, restoring them to a vast extent of 
territory alledged to have been obtained from their sachems 
when intoxicated, or by other under-hand and illegal 
courses. From this decree the Connecticut colony ap- 
pealed, and a new commission was granted, but. with no 
decisive result, and the case remained unsettled for more 
than half a century from the time of its commencement. 



226 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Owenoco lived to an advanced age, becoming, before his 
death, a helpless mendicant, and subsisting, in company 
with his squaw, upon the hospitality of the neighboring 
settlers. His son Caesar was his successor as sachem. 

Ben, the youngest son of Uncas, of illegitimate birth, 
succeeded Cassar, to the exclusion of the rightful heir, 
young Mamohet, a grandson of Owenoco. 

Mason now renewed his claims, and, accompanied by 
his two sons, carried Mamohet to England, that he might 
present a new petition to the reigning monarch. A new 
commission was awarded, but both the applicants died 
before it was made out. When the trial finally came on 
in 1738, distinguished counsel were employed on both 
sides, in anticipation of an arduous and protracted contest ; 
but by a singular course of collusion and artifice, which ! 
it were too tedious to detail, the decision of 1705, on the 
first commission, was repealed, and the Connecticut claims 
supported. This was appealed from by the Masons, and 
good cause appearing, a new trial was decreed. 

Five commissioners, men of note from New York and 
New Jersey, met at Norwich in the summer of 1743, and 
the great case brought in auditprs and parties in interest 
from far and near. The claims, and the facts offered in 
support of them, were strangely intricate and complex: 
counsel appeared in behalf of four sets of parties, viz: 
the Connecticut colony ; the two claimants of the title of 
Sachem of the Mohegans, Ben and John, a descendant of 
the elder branch; and those in possession of the lands 
in question. 

The decree was in favor of the colony, which was sus- 
tained on the concluding examination of the case in 
England. Two of the commissioners dissented. The 
Mohegans still retained a reservation of about four thou- 
sand acres. 

Their number reduced to a few hundred; distracted by 



j 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



227 



the uncertain tenure of their property, and the claims of 
the rival sachems ; mingled with the whites in contentions, ,. 
the merits of which they were little capable of compre- 
hending; with drunkenness and vice prevalent among 
them; the tribe was fast dwindling into insignificance. 
Kestrictive laws, forbidding the sale of ardent spirits to the 
Indians, were then, as now, but of little effect. 

Of the celebrated and warlike tribes of the Mohegans 
and Pequots, only a few miserable families now remain 
upon their ancient territory. These are mostly of mixed 
blood, and little of the former character of their race is to 
be seen in them except its peculiar vices. They are 
scantily supported by the rents of the lands still reserved 
and appropriated to their use. A number of the Mohe- 
gans removed to the Oneida district, in New York, some 
years since, but a few still remain near the former head- 
quarters of their tribe, and individuals among them retain 
the names of sachems and warriors noted in the early 
ages of the colonies. 

Much interest attaches to the efforts which have been 
made for the instruction and improvement of this remnant 
of the Mohegan nation; especially as connected with the 
biography of Samuel Occum, their native preacher; one 
of the few Indians who have been brought under the 
influence of civilization, and have acquired a liberal 
education. 

In reviewing the character and history of these, as of 
most of the native tribes, and reflecting upon their steady 
and hopeless decline before the European immigrants, we 
cannot but feel influenced by contradictory sympathies. 
Their cruelties strike us with horror; their treachery and 
vices disgust us ; but, with all this, we still may trace the 
tokens of a great and noble spirit. It is painful to reflect 
that this has more and more declined as their communion 
with the whites has become the more intimate. They 



228 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



have lost their nationality, and with it their pride and 
self-respect; the squalid and poverty-stricken figures hang- 
ing about the miserable huts they inhabit, convey but a 
faint idea of the picture that the nation presented when in 
a purely savage state ; when the vices of foreigners had not, 
as yet, contaminated them, nor their superior power and 
knowledge disheartened them by the contrast. 



CHAPTER IY. 

KING PHILIP'S WAR, 

THE INDIANS FURNISHED WITH FIRE-ARMS- — SITUATION OF THE 

colonists Philip's accession— his treaties with 

THE WHITES HIS TRUE PLANS EMMISSARIES SENT 

TO SOG-KONATE CAPTAIN BENJAMIN CHURCH 

HIS INTERVIEW WITH AWOSHONKS MUR- 
DER OF JOHN SASSAMON. 

The events of which we shall now proceed to give a 
brief synopsis, were of more momentous interest, and 
fraught with more deadly peril to the New England colo- 
nies, than aught that had preceded them. The wild 
inhabitants of the forest had now become far more danger- 
ous opponents than when they relied upon their rude flint- 
headed arrows, or heavy stone tomahawks, as the only 
efficient weapons of offence. Governor Bradford, many 
years before the breaking out of the hostilities which we are 
about to detail, had given a graphic description of the effect 
produced upon their deportment and self-confidence by the 
introduction of European weapons. We quote from Brad- 
ford's verse, as rendered in prose in the appendix to 
Davis' edition of the New England Memorial. 

"These fierce natives," says he, "are now so furnished 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



229 



with guns and musquets, and are so skilled in them, that 
they keep the English in awe, and give the law to them 
when they please ; and of powder and shot they have such 
abundance that sometimes they refuse to buy more. Flints, 
screw-plates, and moulds for all sorts of shot they have, 
and skill how to use them. They can mend and new 
stock their pieces as well, almost, as an Englishman." 

He describes the advantages which they thus obtained 
over the whites in the pursuit of game; their own con- 
sciousness of power, and boasts that they could, when 
they pleased, "drive away the English, or kill them;" 
and finally breaks out into bitter upbraidings against the 
folly and covetousness of the traders who had supplied 
them with arms. His forebodings were truly prophetic : 
"Many," says he, "abhor this practice," (the trade in arms 
and ammunition,) "whose innocence will not save them 
if, which God forbid, they should come to see, by this 
means, some sad tragedy, when these heathen, in their 
fury, shall cruelly shed our innocent blood." 

The English settlements were small, ill defended, and 
widely scattered. Whoever is acquainted with the rough 
nature of the New England soil, must at once perceive 
how necessary it became for the first settlers to select the 
spots most favorable for cultivation, and what an inhos- 
pitable wilderness must have separated their small and 
ill-protected, villages. 

The whole number of the European inhabitants of 
New England, in 1675, when the memorable Indian war 
broke out, has been computed at about fifty thousand, 
which would give an effective force of not far from eight 
thousand men. 

It were but wild conjecture to attempt a computation 
of the number and force of the native tribes who took 
part in the war. Old historians frequently speak positively, 
and in round numbers, when enumerating the aborigines ; 



230 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



but, in many instances, we can perceive, with tolerable 
certainty, that they have been guilty of gross exaggeration, 
such as the whole circumstances of their intercourse with 
the savages would naturally lead to. 

An enemy whose appearance was sudden and unex- 
pected; who, in secret ambuscade or midnight assault, 
used every device to increase the terror and bewilderment 
of their victims, might well be over estimated by those 
whose all was at stake, and who were waiting in fearful 
uncertainty as to where the danger lay, or when they 
should next be called to resist it. 

In 1662, Philip, Metacomet or Pometacom, as we have 
already seen, succeeded his brother Alexander, within a 
few months of the death of their father, Massasoit. Upon 
the occasion of his assuming the dignity of sachem over 
the Wampanoags, there was a great collection of sachems 
and warriors from all parts of the country, to unite in a 
feast of rejoicing at Mount Hope, where he held his court. 

Although the new chief renewed his treaty with the 
English, and for nine years after his accession made no 
open demonstrations of hostility, yet his mind appears 
from the first to have been aliened from the intruders. 
Whether from anger at the proceedings attendant on the 
death of his brother, or from sympathy with his injured 
allies, the Narragansetts, or that his natural sagacity sug- 
gested to him the ruin which must fall upon his people by 
the spread of the whites; certain it is that his feelings of 
enmity were nourished and brooded over, long before 
their final exhibition. 

Like his father before him, he never inclined an ear to 
the teachings of the Christian religion. Mather mentions 
a signal instance of his contempt for this species of in- 
struction. The celebrated preacher, Eliot, had expounded 
the doctrines of Christianity, and urged their acceptance 
upon Philip, with his usual zeal and sincerity; but the 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



231 



sachem, approaching him, and laving hold of a button on 
his coat, told him that he cared no more for his Gospel 
than for that button. 

In the year 1671, Philip made grievous complaints of 
trespasses upon the planting-lands of his people : according 
to Hubbard, "the devil, who was a murderer from the 
beginning, had so filled the heart of this savage miscreant 
with envy and malice against the English, that he was 
ready to break out into open war against the inhabitants 
of Plymouth, pretending some trifling injuries done him 
j in his planting-land." 

This matter was for the time settled, the complaints 
not appearing to the colonial authorities to be satisfac- 
j torily substantiated. A meeting was brought about, in 
I J April, 1671, at Taunton, between Philip, accompanied by 
| a party of his warriors, in war paint and hostile trappings, 
| and commissioners from Massachusetts. The Indian chief, 
| unable to account for the hostile preparations in which he 
i was proved to have been engaged, became confused, and 
| perhaps intimidated. He not only acknowledged himself 
in the wrong, and that the rebellion originated in the 
| "naughtiness of his own heart," but renewed his submis- 
| sion to the king of England, and agreed to surrender all 
j his English arms to the government of New Plymouth, 
"to be kept as long as they should see reason." In pursu- 
! ance of this clause, the guns brought by himself and the 
I i party who were with him were delivered up. 

The colonists, now thoroughly alarmed, made efforts 
I during the succeeding summer to deprive the neighboring 
j tribes of arms and ammunition, making further prohibitory 
| enactments as to the trade in these articles. Philip having 
j failed to carry out his agreement to surrender his weapons, 
the Plymouth government referred the matter to the 
authorities of Massachusetts ; but Philip, repairing himself 
to Boston, excited some feeling in his favor, and the 



232 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



claims of Plymouth were not fully assented to. Another 
treaty was concluded in the ensuing September, whereby 
Philip agreed to pay certain stipulated costs ; to consider 
himself subject to the king of England ; to consult the 
governor of Plymouth in the disposal of his lands, as also 
in the making of war; to render, if practicable, five wolves' 
heads yearly; and to refer all differences and causes of 
quarrel to the decision of the governor. The arms put in 
possession of the English at the time of the meeting in 
April, were declared forfeit, and confiscated by the Ply- 
mouth government. 

There can be but little doubt as to Philip's motive for 
signing these articles. Peelings of enmity and revenge 
towards the whites had obtained complete possession of 
him, and he evidently wished merely to quiet suspicion 
and avert inquiry. It is almost universally allowed that 
he had long formed a deep and settled plan to exterminate 
the white settlers, and, in pursuance of it, had made use 
of all his powers of artful persuasion in his intercourse 
with the surrounding tribes. The time for a general up- 
rising was said to have been fixed a year later than the 
period when hostilities actually commenced, and the pre- 
mature development of the conspiracy, brought about in 
a manner to which we shall presently advert, has been 
considered the salvation of the colonies. 

Hubbard, indeed, who is ever unwilling to allow that 
the Indians were possessed of any good or desirable quali- 
ties, and who can see no wrong in any of the outrages of 
the whites, suggests that Philip's heart would have failed 
him, had he not been pressed on to the undertaking by 
force of circumstances. He tells us that, when the great 
sachem succumbed to the Eoglish demands, in the spring 
previous, "one of his captains, of far better courage and 
resolution than himself, when he saw his cowardly temper 
and disposition, flung down his arms, calling him a white- 




KING PHILIP. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



233 



livered cur, or to that purpose, and saying that he would 
never own him again or fight under him; and, from that 
time, hath turned to the English, and hath continued, to 
this day, a faithful and resolute soldier in their quarrel." 

Philip had mingled much with the whites, and was well 
acquainted with their habits, dispositions, and force. For 
fifty years there had been comparative peace between the 
colonists and their savage neighbors, who, although slow 
to adopt the customs and refinements now brought to their 
notice, were apt enough, as we have seen, in availing 
themselves of the weapons which put the contending na- 
tions so nearly upon terms of equality. 

To rouse a widely-scattered people to such a desperate 
struggle; to reconcile clannish animosities, and to point 
out the danger of allowing the colonies to continue their 
spread, required a master-spirit. The Wampanoag sachem 
proved himself qualified for the undertaking : he gained 
the concurrence and cooperation of the Narragansetts, a 
nation always more favorably disposed towards the English 
than most others of the Indian tribes ; he extended his 
league far to the westward, among the tribes on the Con- 
necticut and elsewhere; and sent diplomatic embassies in 
every direction. 

Six of his warriors, in the spring of 1675, were dis- 
patched to Sogkonate, now Little Compton, upon the 
eastern shores of JSTarragansett bay, and extending along 
the sea coast, to treat with Awoshonks, squaw sachem of 
the tribe, concerning the proposed uprising. The queen 
appointed a great dance, calling together all her people, 
but, at the same time, took the precaution to send intelli- 
gence of the proceeding, by two Indians, named Sassamon 
and George, who understood English, to her friend, Cap- 
tain Benjamin Church, the only white settler then residing 
in that part of the country. 

This remarkable man, whose name occupies so prominent 



234 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

a place in the list of our early military heroes, had moved 
from Duxbury into the unsettled country of the Sogkonates 
only the year before, and was busily and laboriously en- 
gaged, at this time, in building, and in the numerous cares 
attendant upon a new settlement. He was a man of 
courage and fortitude unsurpassed: bold and energetic; 
but with all the rough qualities of a soldier, possessing a 
heart so open to kindly emotions and the gentler feelings 
of humanity as to excite our surprise, when we consider 
the stern age in which he lived, and the scenes of savage 
conflict in which he bore so conspicuous a part. 

True courage is generally combined with generosity and 
magnanimity. The brave man seldom oppresses a fallen 
foe ; a fact strikingly exemplified in Church's treatment 
of his prisoners. He seems to have harbored none of those 
feelings of bitterness and revenge which led the colonists 
to acts of perfidy and cruelty hardly surpassed by the 
savages themselves. The manner in which he was able 
to conciliate the good-will of the Indians, known as he was 
among them for their most dangerous foe, is truly aston- 
ishing. It was his custom to select from his captives such 
as took his fancy, and attach them to himself, and never 
was officer attended by a more enthusiastic and faithful 
guard than they proved. His son tells us that "if he 
perceived they looked surly, and his Indian soldiers called 
them treacherous dogs, as some of them would sometimes 
do, all the notice he would take of it would only be to 
clap them on the back, and tell them, 'Come, come, you 
look wild and surly, and mutter, but that signifies nothing ; 
these, my best soldiers, were, a little while ago, as wild and 
surly as you are now; by the time you have been but one 
day with me, you will love me too, and be as brisk as any 
of them.' And it proved so, for there was none of them 
but, after they had been a little while with him, and seen 
his behavior and how cheerful and successful his men 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 235 

were, would be as ready to pilot him to any place where 
the Indians dwelt or haunted, though their own fathers or 
nearest relations should be among them, or to fight for 
him, as any of his own men." 

Captain Church was in high favor and confidence with 
Awoshonks and her tribe ; he therefore accepted her invi- 
tation to attend at the dance, and started for the camp, 
accompanied by a son of his tenant, who spoke the In- 
1 dian language. 

He found the queen leading the dance, "in a muck of 
sweat," surrounded by a great body of her subjects. She 
received her visitor hospitably, told him of Philip's threats, 
j and inquired concerning the purposes of the English, 
i Church told her that no injuries had been meditated by 
! the whites, as Philip averred, but that the sachem was the 
• aggressor. He advised her to keep upon good terms with 
; the English, asking her whether it was a probable thing 
that he should have come down into the wilderness to set- 
tle — if there were warlike preparations in progress among 
his people ; and silenced the six Mount Hope ambassadors 
by recommending that they should be knocked on the 
I head. A stormy discussion ensued among the Indians, 
| and one Little Eyes, a man of importance, endeavored to 
draw Church aside to dispatch him quietly ; but the captain 
was unmoved, and upbraided the Mount Hopes for their 
bloody intention, assuring them that, if they would have 
war, he would prove a thorn in their sides. Awoshonks 
inclined to his advice, and, having appointed two men 
I to guard his house during his absence, desired him to go to 
I Plymouth, and make known her good faith to the colonies. 
Church started on his mission, and, on the way, gained 
further information concerning Philip's movements from 
Peter Nunnuit, the husband of Weetamore, queen of Po- 
casset, now Tiverton. Philip, it seems, had been holding 
a protracted dance for a number of weeks, rousing a mar- 



236 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



tial spirit in the minds of the young warriors who were 
gathered about him from far and near. He had finally 
promised them that, on the succeeding Sabbath, they 
might plunder ■ the English settlements, while the people 
were engaged in religious services. 

We may here mention a circumstance which was con- 
sidered, by Hubbard and others, as having an important 
bearing upon the premature commencement of hostilities 
on the part of Philip : this was the murder of John Sas- 
samon, and the subsequent execution of the guilty parties. 
Sassamon was one of the few Indians who, at that time, 
had received the rudiments of an English education. He 
was a professor of Christianity, and had been employed 
among his people in the capacities of schoolmaster, preacher, 
and royal secretary. In 1662, he occupied this latter post 
under Philip, to whom he was subject, although born a 
Massachusett — and specimens of his imperfect communi- 
cations with the colonies, in behalf of his sachem, are 
still preserved. 

Becoming aware of the dangerous conspiracy fomented 
by Philip, he disclosed the whole plot to the officers of the 
colony; and, not long after, his body was found in Assa- 
womsett pond, with the neck broken, and presenting other 
marks of violence. His gun and hat were so disposed as 
to give the impression that he had accidentally fallen 
through the ice, and been drowned. The matter was 
strictly inquired into, and three Indians, of Philip's party, 
falling under suspicion, were regularly tried before a jury, 
in part at least of their peers, as it was composed of whites 
and Indians. The culprits were convicted and executed, 
two of them upon what would appear to us as very insuf- 
ficient evidence. Mather speaks of the blood oozing from 
the murdered body on the approach of the accused ; but 
whether this circumstance made a part of the evidence 
before the court does not appear. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



237 



Philip himself did not come forward to attempt to clear 
himself of the charge of being concerned in this murder, 
but kept his warriors in preparation for battle, receiving 
and entertaining all the roving and unsettled Indians who 
would resort to him, and "marching up and down" con- 
tinually during the pendancy of the trial. 



CHAPTER V. 

ATTACK ON SWANSEY— COLLECTION OF TROOPS — FIGHT AT MILES* 
BRIDGE — PHILIP DRIVEN FROM THE NECK— CHURCH AT 
PUNKATESE — -DESTRUCTION OF BROOKFIELD. 

It was on the 24th of June, 1675, that the first open 
attack was made upon the colonies. The small village of 
Swansey lay within a few miles of Mount Hope, and here 
the first blood was shed. Some days previous, a party of 
the natives had committed a few slight depredations at this 
place, and conducted themselves with insolence, evidently 
desirous of provoking a quarrel. 

The squaws and children of Philip's active force were 
sent, for safety, to the country of the Narragansetts, before 
any open demonstration of hostilities. 

Some little discrepancy occurs in the early accounts of 
the first fatal attack, but it is certain that, on the day above 
mentioned, eight or nine men were killed in different parts 
of Swansey. A company returning from religious exer- 
cises, "in away of humiliation," were fired upon with fatal 
effect, one being killed and several wounded. Two more, 
who had started in quest of a surgeon, were slain, scalped 
and mangled ; and six men were killed at a dwelling-house 
situated in another part of the settlement. 

From this period all was terror and confusion. Swan- 



238 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



sey was deserted by its inhabitants, and mostly reduced to 
ashes by the Indians. Deputations were sent to Boston, 
to lay the case before the Massachusetts authorities, and 
to solicit some prompt and efficient protection in this ter- 
rible emergency. 

A party of horse and foot were at once dispatched in 
the direction of Mount Hope, under the command of Cap- 
tains Henchman and Prentice. Samuel Mosely, a bold and 
martial character, who had pursued the calling of a priva- 
teer, raised a volunteer company of one hundred and ten 
soldiers, and joined the expedition. He was, it is said, ac- 
companied by several bucaneers of his own class, with a 
number of dogs; and the feats performed by them, upon 
divers occasions, savor rather of the marvellous. 

The head-quarters of the united forces were at the house 
of a minister of Swansey, named Miles, and hard by was a 
bridge, affording convenient access to the domains of Philip. 

Captain Church, with the Plymouth troops under Major 
Cutworth, were now acting in concert with the men from 
Massachusetts. The Indians lay concealed or skulking 
about the garrison, and succeeded in killing a number by 
shots from covert, but showed themselves wary of coming 
to open combat. 

A detachment of Prentice's men, led by a Mr. Gill and 
one Belcher, made an attempt upon the enemy in their 
own quarters, but, upon crossing Miles' bridge, were fired 
upon by some of the Indians lying in ambush, and one 
of their number was killed. Gill was struck by a ball, 
which would have proved mortal but for a singular spe- 
cies of defensive armor, viz: a quantity of thick brown 
paper which he had inserted under his clothes. The troops 
retreated, leaving Church, Gill, and another to bring off 
the dead man; which, being accomplished, Church pur- 
sued and regained his horse, under the full fire of the enemy. 

The next day the bridge was crossed by a larger force, 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 239 

and, after some skirmishing, in which "Ensign Savage, 
that young martial spark, scarce twenty years of age," was 
shot through the thigh — as Church says, by an accidental 
ball from his own party — the neck of Mount Hope was 
cleared of Indians. The English there found Philip's de- 
serted wigwam, and the mutilated remains of a number 
of the murdered whites. 

It was now proposed to secure the ground already gained 
by the erection of a fort. Church ridiculed the plan, and 
urgently advocated a brisk pursuit of the enemy in the 
Pocasset country, whither they had doubtless fled. From 
disregard to this advice, Philip had free scope to extend 
his devastations unchecked toward the east, and terrible 
destruction ensued, as we shall see hereafter. 

Early in July, Captains Church and Fuller, with six 
files of soldiers, were sent across to Rhode Island, thence 
to cross Sogkonate river, and endeavor to communicate with 
the Pocasset and Sogkonate Indians, About the same time, 
Captain Hutchinson, from Boston, arrived at the English 
encampment, having been commissioned to treat with and 
gain over the Narragansetts. In pursuance of this pur- 
pose, Hutchinson, with Mosely and the Massachusetts 
troops, proceeded in arms to the Narragansett country, 
where, in concert with commissioners from Connecticut, 
they concluded a futile and inoperative treaty of amity 
with certain Indians claiming to be chief counsellors of 
the prominent sachems. The Narragansetts were bound, 
by the stipulations of this alliance, to render up all of 
Philip's subjects who should be found in their country — 
receiving two coats for every prisoner, and one coat for 
every head — and to carry on active war against the enemies 
of the whites. Hostages were given to ensure the per- 
formance of the engagement. 

While this child's play was enacting, Fuller and Church, 
with their little band of thirty-six men, had penetrated 



24:0 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



into the country of the Pocassets. After some unsuccessful 
attempts to entrap the enemy by means of ambuscade, (the 
concealed company being betrayed by incautiously grati- 
fying their "epidemical plague, lust after tobacco,") 
Church and fifteen or twenty companions, with the consent 
of Captain Fuller, left the rest at Pocasset, and marched 
southward. 

They struck an Indian trail leading towards an extensive 
pine swamp, but the company becoming alarmed by the 
numbers of rattlesnakes which abounded there, left the 
track, and went down into Punkatese neck. At this place, 
which is situated on the south-western part of the modern 
town of Tiverton, they encountered a large body of the 
natives in and around a pease-field of Captain Almy. 
They numbered, as Church was afterwards told by some of 
their own party, about three hundred ; but, as they pursued 
the usual course of savage warfare, firing from behind 
trees and thickets, the English could form no estimate of 
the force with which they were to contend. 

In this extremity the courage, coolness, and self-posses- 
sion of the gallant captain were eminently conspicuous. 
As forcibly expressed in Church's narrative, "the hill 
seemed to move, being covered over with Indians, with j 
their bright guns glittering in the sun." 

A detachment had been sent down the river in boats to 
support the troops on land, and could be plainly seen, 
landed upon the Ehode Island shore, across the river. 
Church bade his men strip to their shirt-sleeves, and fire 
signal guns to attract attention, and show their allies that j 
the party engaged was English. This course succeeded, 
and a boat put out, and approached the combatants ; but, - 
on approaching the shore, the crew received such a volley 
from the guns of the Indians, that they pulled off again. 
Church, enraged at their pusillanimity, finally ordered the 
boat off, and threatened to fire into her himself. These 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



241 



few men, thus left to shift for themselves, now seemed to 
be in a desperate condition. They were faint for want of 
food, as they had neglected to bring any provisions, other 
than a few cakes of rusk, and had been driven from the 
pease-field while endeavoring to allay their hunger with 
the crude nourishment within their reach. The Indians 
beset them on all sides, and, gaining possession of the 
ruins of an old stone-house, poured their bullets upon the 
English from its shelter. The ammunition of Church's 
party was nearly expended, and their powder was poor and 
inefficient. In the midst of these difficulties, the captain 
succeeded in preserving the courage and spirit of his men, 
pointing out to them how providentially the balls seemed 
to be directed. 

They were finally relieved from their perilous situation 
| by the arrival of a sloop of Captain Golding, an acquaint- 
ance of Church. Mooring the vessel at a short distance, 
he cast off a canoe, and suffered it to drive ashore. In 
this slight vehicle, which would carry but two at a time, 
| the whole of the party got off to the sloop, by a repetition 
| of the same operation. Church, who had left his hat at a 
I spring, declared that the enemy should not have it as a 
trophy; and, loading his gun with his last charge of pow- 
der, he went up alone, in the face of the Indians, and 
recovered it. When going on board in the canoe, a ball 
struck a small stake just before his breast, and another 
passed through his hair. 

. Joining company next day with Fuller's party, who had 
also been engaged with the Indians at Pocasset, they all 
returned to the encampment at Mount Hope, where the 
army, as Church averred, "lay still to cover the people 
from nobody, while they were building a fort for nothing." 

Shortly after this, being upon Khocle Island, in pursuit i 
of supplies for the garrison, Church fell in with Alderman, 
a deserter from the forces of Weetamore, queen of Pocas- 
16 



242 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



set. By conversation with this Indian, he learned the 
precise spot at which the squaw sachem was encamped, 
and, in pursuance of his suggestion, an expedition was 
immediately set on foot against her. The attempt termin- 
ated in an unimportant skirmish ; the chief officer of the 
Plymouth men being timid, and the Indians retiring to a 
swamp of difficult access. 

On the 18th of July, the united forces of the colonists 
drove Philip, with a large body of his warriors, into an 
extensive swamp in Pocasset. After an imperfect exam- 
ination of the Indians' place of retreat, the forces were 
drawn off, having sustained considerable loss by the fire 
of the lurking enemy. It was averred, indeed, by some, 
that half an hour more of energetic pursuit would have 
secured Philip, and perhaps have ended the war. One I 
hundred newly-erected wigwams were found deserted in | 
the vicinity of the swamp ; and an old man, who had been 
left behind in the precipitate retreat, confirmed the suppo- 
sition that Philip had but lately fled from the camp. 

Not far from this time, the town of Dartmouth having 
been, in great measure, destroyed by the enemy, a large 
number of Indians, no less than one hundred and sixty, 
who had dwelt in the country thereabout, and were not 
active partakers in the destruction of the town, delivered 
themselves up to one Captain Eels, upon promises of good 
treatment. They were, nevertheless, taken to Plymouth ; 
sold by the colonial authorities as slaves ; and transported 
to foreign parts. Captains Church and Eels made, upon | 
this occasion, the most vehement remonstrances, expressed 
by Church with his characteristic energy and spirit ; but 
all to no purpose, as it only secured him the ill-will of the 
government. The act was grossly impolitic, as well as ! 
perfidious and cruel. 

The English entertained hopes of being able to confine 
Philip within the limits of the swamp to which he had 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



243 



retired, and proceeded to erect another fort at Pocasset; 
an expedient which seems to have been as ill-advised and 
futile as the garrisoning of Mount Hope. The sachem 
had abundant leisure to prepare canoes, an opportunity of 
which he diligently availed himself, and secretly passed 
the river with all his warriors. They were seen by the 
people of Kehoboth, crossing the open country, which ex- 
tended for some distance, and offered no means of protec- 
tion or concealment to the fugitives. 

A party was speedily sent in pursuit, under Captain 
Henchman, accompanied by Owenoco, the son of Uncas 
the Mohegan, and a considerable band of warriors. Un- 
cas had sent this detachment to Boston, upon the summons 
of the Massachusetts authorities, to renew his assurances 
of good faith, and proffer assistance in the campaign 
against Philip. 

Henchman's company proceeded up the river to Provi- 
dence, and being there somewhat reinforced, hastened at 
once on the trail of the Wampanoag. Coming up with a 
portion of the enemy, a sharp engagement ensued, and 
about thirty of Philip's warriors were killed, but the Mo- 
hegans stopping for plunder, the principal force escaped, 
and from that time were no more seen by the pursuers. 
Henchman returned with his men to the eastern colonies, 
while the Mohegans took their way southward to their 
own country, leaving Philip to pursue his course towards 
the Hudson, and to rouse up the war among the western 
settlements of Massachusetts. 

The Nipmucks, a large tribe inhabiting the north-east- 
ern portion of the present state of Connecticut, and the 
adjoining Massachusetts districts, appear, ere this period, 
to have become involved in Philip's undertaking. Men- 
don, a small town, twenty- four miles westward from Provi- 
dence, and standing at some distance from any other 
settlement, had been attacked on the 14th of July, and a 



244 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



number of men killed by snots from an unseen enemy. 
The whole of the inhabitants deserted the place in terror, 
and it was reduced to ashes by the assailants. 

The colonies attempted, after this, to treat with the 
Nipmuck sachems, but found them reserved and "surly." | 
A meeting was, however, appointed between them and 
an embassy from the Massachusetts government. Captains 
Wheeler and Hutchinson, with a considerable body of 
mounted men, repaired to the place of meeting at the time 
designated, viz: the 2d of August; but, instead of coming 
forward in friendly conference, the Indians, to the number of 
two or three hundred, formed an ambuscade, and, firing sud- 
denly from their cover, killed eight of the whites at the first 
discharge. Hutchinson was killed and Wheeler wounded. 

The company, avoiding the other spots where they sus- 
pected the enemy to be lying in ambush, made the best 
of their way to Brookfleld, a solitary village near the 
principal head-quarters of the Nipmueks. The Indians, 
in great numbers, pursued them into the town. They 
found the terrified inhabitants collected in a single house, 
which stood on a rising ground, where they had fortified 
themselves as well as possible, upon such an emer- 
gency, by piling logs and hanging feather beds against 
the walls. Wheeler and his companions also entered the 
house, and the savages, after burning all the buildings in 
the town, with the exception of a few immediately adjoin- 
ing that where the whites had retreated, laid close siege to 
the frail fortification. Seventy people, including women 
and children, were here crowded together, with such slight 
defences as we have mentioned ; while an enraged and re- 
morseless enemy was pouring showers of bullets through 
the walls, and using every endeavor to fire the house. 
The Indians shot burning arrows upon the roof, and, 
attaching rags dipped in brimstone to long poles, they set 
fire to them, and thrust them against the walls. From the 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



245 



afternoon of Monday the 2d of August, till Wednesday 
evening, these assaults continued; and, as a last attempt, 
the besiegers loaded a cart with hemp and other inflam- 
mable materials, and binding together a number of poles, so 
attached to the vehicle that it could be moved from a safe 
distance, wheeled it blazing against the building. This was 
in the evening, and, according to Wheeler's account, noth- 
ing could have preserved the unfortunate inmates, had not a 
heavy shower of rain suddenly extinguished the burning 
mass. In the words of Hubbard, by "this develish strata- 
gem," but for the rain, "all the poor people would either 
have been consumed by merciless flames, or else have fall- 
en into the hands of their cruel enemies, like wolves con- 
tinually yelling and gaping for their prey." 

To exclude all assistance from without, the Indians had 
placed watchers and ambuscades upon all sides of the 
town ; but Major Willard, who had been dispatched against 
the Indians west of Groton, hearing of the probable condi- 
tion of Brookfield, marched to its relief, and succeeded in 
effecting an entrance to the fortified house on this same ] 
night. He had with him forty-six men, but it is said that, 
as they passed through the ruins of the town, a large num- 
ber of terrified cattle, who had not been destroyed in the 
conflagration, followed them for protection; and that, in 
the darkness, the Indians were deceived by this circum- 
stance, as to the number of the party, and accordingly 
drew off their forces early the next morning. They re- 
tired to a swamp, twelve miles distant, where they met 
Philip with a band of his warriors. Only one of the whites 
was killed on this occasion, while the Indians lost, it is 
said, nearly eighty. 

A garrison was maintained at the only remaining house 
for some months, but was finally drawn off, the building 
was burned by the savages, and the town left entirely 
desolate. 



246 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PHILIP MOVES WESTWARD ATTACKS ON HADLEY AND DEERFIELD — • 

GOFFE THE REGICIDE DESTRUCTION OF LATHROP's COMMAND 

ASSAULTS ON SPRINGFIELD AND HATFIELD EXPEDITION 

AGAINST THE NARRAGANSETTS : OUTRAGEOUS CRUEL- 
TIES IN THEIR REDUCTION PHILIP ON THE HUDSON 

—DESTRUCTION OF LANCASTER, MEDFIELD, SEE- 
KONK, GROTON, WARWICK, MARLBOROUGH, 
ETC.' — CANONCHET TAKEN AND PUT TO 
DEATH— FURTHER INDIAN RAVAGES. 

"All died — the wailing babe— the shrieking maid— 
And in the flood of fire that scathed the glade, 
The roofs went down." — Bryant. 

We can do little more, in continuing this account of 
Indian ravages, than enumerate the towns and settlements 
destroyed, and the little communities massacred or driven 
from their homes in utter destitution. 

The terrible uncertainty which attended these calamities 
rendered them the more distressing. ISTo one could tell, 
for many months from this time, where Philip was to be 
found, or at what point he meditated the next attack. He 
continued his westward progress, as is supposed, nearly to 
the Hudson, through the Mohegan country. He was 
thought to be present at many of the successful and mur- 
derous assaults that were made upon the white settlements ; 
but, if so, he was enabled so to disguise himself as not to 
be distinctly recognized. 

Mosely and others in vain scoured the country in pur- 
suit of the Indians. The enemy, neglecting agriculture, 
and deserting their usual haunts, concealed themselves in 
swamps and thickets, retiring unperceived at the approach 
of regular troops, and ever ready to take advantage of 
any weak and unprotected quarter. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



247 



The Indians in the vicinity of Hadley and Springfield, 
on the Connecticut, were relied upon by the whites as 
friendly and well-disposed ; but ere long it was sufficiently 
plain that they had made common cause with Philip. 

On the 1st of September, Hadley and Deerfleld were 
both fiercely assaulted, and the latter town in great meas- 
ure destroyed. At Hadley the Indians were driven off 
after much hard fighting. The inhabitants were engaged 
in religious exercises at the meeting-house, with arms, as 
usual, by their sides, when the Indians came upon them. 
So sudden and desperate was the attack, that they became 
confused, and might have been totally discomfited, but for 
a strange and unlooked-for champion. This was an old 
man, with white and flowing locks, and unusual costume, 
who appeared from some unknown quarter, and at once 
assumed the command of the panic-stricken congregation. 
With military skill and coolness he directed every ma- 
noeuvre, and so reestablished their confidence and spirit, 
that the enemy was speedily put to flight. He disappeared 
immediately after the engagement, and many of the aston- 
ished inhabitants were persuaded that an angel from heaven 
had been miraculously sent for their deliverance. 

The old warrior was no other than Major-general GofFe, 
who, with his companion, Whalley, lay for a long time con- 
cealed at the house of Mr. Eussell, the minister of Hadley. 

Ten men were killed at ISTorthfield about this time, and 
a party of thirty-six, under a Captain Beers, who had been 
sent to relieve the town, were nearly all cut off by an 
ambush. The bodies were mutilated, and the heads set 
on poles. " One, (if not more,") says Hubbard, "was found 
with a chain hooked into his under jaw, and so hung up 
on the bough of a tree, (it is feared he was hung up alive.") 

Several thousand bushels of corn had been stored at 
Deerfleld, and a company of nearly one hundred young 
men, "the flower of the country," under the command of 



248 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



a youthful and gallant officer. Captain Lathrop, marched 
to secure it. On their way, an immense body of Indians ' 
fell upon them, and slew nearly the whole party; among j 
the rest, the brave commander ; only seven or eight sur- 
vived. This defeat is attributed to the circumstance that 
Lathrop, aware of the disadvantages which a compact 
body of troops must labor under, when contending with 
an enemy who always fired from cover, ordered his men 
to separate, and take to the trees, like their opponents. 
This being done, the disproportion of numbers proved so 
great, that the Indians were enabled to surround the j 
English, and cut them off separately. 

The Springfield Indians had pretended unbroken friend- 
ship for the whites, and had given hostages as pledges of 
good faith ; but the hostages succeeded in escaping, and 
the whole body joined the hostile confederacy, with those 
of Hadley, "hanging together like serpent's eggs." The 
town of Springfield received great injury from their 
attack, more than thirty houses being burned; among the 
rest, one containing a "brave library," the finest in that 
part of the country, which belonged to the Eev. Pelatiah I 
Glover. Hubbard considers that this act "did, more than 
any other, discover the said actors to be the children of the 
devil, full of all subtilty and malice," as they had been upon 
friendly terms with the whites for more than forty years. 

On the 19th of October, seven or eight hundred of 
Philip's coadjutors made an attempt upon Hatfield; but, 
the place being well defended, by Mosely and others, the 
enemy "were so well entertained on all hands, that they 
found it too hot for them." 

This was the last important engagement at the westward ! 
part of the colony. Most of Philip's men are supposed 
to have betaken themselves, before winter, to the Karra- 
gansett country; and whether the great sachem himself 
remained concealed among them during that season, or 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 249 

wandered to the west, hatching new plots in the vicinity 
of the Hudson, is not certainly known. 

The condition of the hostile Indians, notwithstanding 
their signal successes, must by this time have become 
sufficiently miserable. Living almost exclusively upon 
animal food; ill protected from the inclemencies of the 
weather; and continually shifting their quarters, it is 
surprising that they should so long have retained their 
energy and fixedness of purpose. 

In September of this year, 1675, the commissioners of 
the united colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, and Massa- 
chusetts, being in session at Boston, concluded arrangements 
by which the war should be jointly and systematically 
prosecuted. One thousand men were to be levied and 
equipped ; the proportion which each colony should furnish 
being settled according to their comparative population 
and resources. 

On the 2d of November it was agreed, by the same 
body, that an additional force should be raised, and active 
measures be taken against the Narragansetts. The reasons 
alledged for attacking this tribe were, that the stipulation 
made by those sachems, who had treated with the colonies 
to deliver up all of Philip's party who should take refuge 
at Narragansett, had not been fulfilled; but that women, 
children, and wounded men had been succored and received 
by them! In addition to this, some of the tribe had ex- 
pressed satisfaction upon hearing of the Indian successes 
at Hadley, and it was "credibly reported" that they had 
killed and taken away many cattle from the neighboring 
English. These, with a detention of a Mr. Smith and his 
family, for a short time, — no other harm being done 
them, — were all the ostensible grounds upon which a 
formidable army was sent to exterminate the Narragan- 
setts with fire and sword ! 

No doubt their sympathies were with those of their own 



250 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



race, and-, had they fully joined the conspiracy, the addition 
of so numerous a tribe to the enemy might have turned 
the scale, and resulted in the annihilation of the whites. 

Josias Winslow, governor of Plymouth colony, was 
chosen commander-in-chief of the English force. Church, 
at the request of WinsW, joined the expedition, although 
he would not accept of a commission. A considerable 
body of Mohegans, subjects of Uncas, accompanied the 
detachment from Connecticut. 

After destroying many deserted wigwams, and taking a 
considerable number of prisoners in desultory warfare, a 
guide was obtained to pilot the invaders to the chief fort 
of the Narragansetts. The encampment covered five or 
six acres of elevated ground, forming an island in the 
midst of an extensive swamp. In addition to the natural 
defences of the place, the whole village was surrounded 
by a strong palisade, and the only means of approach 
was by crossing the marsh upon a huge fallen tree. The 
wigwams within, to the number of five or six hundred, 
were rendered, to a great extent, bullet-proof by piling up 
tubs of grain and other stores about the sides. 

It was upon the 19th of December, early in the after- 
noon, that the English forces reached this place of retreat. 
With determined and desperate courage they rushed to the 
attack. File after file of soldiers, with their officers at 
their head, was swept from the narrow bridge by the fire 
of a party within, posted in a log hut, from which the 
approach was commanded. They continued to press on, 
and succeeded in driving the Indians from this covert into 
the main inclosure. A scene of terrible carnage ensued 
for several hours ; but the assailants steadily gained ground, 
driving many of the enemy into the swamp, and covering 
the area within with dead bodies. 

Church, who had made an excursion, with a small party, 
into the swamp, to attack the Indians in the rear, and who, 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



251 



after doing good service, was severely wounded in the 
thigh, seeing some setting fire to the wigwams, made 
strenuous efforts to prevent their destruction. The weather 
was intensely cold; night was coming on; many of the 
troops were destitute of provisions; a heavy snow storm 
was brooding; and sixteen miles must be traversed by 
the army, encumbered by their wounded, before they 
could reach shelter. He represented all these circum- 
stances to the general, pointing out the advantages of 
obtaining plentiful supplies of food, and a warm cover 
where the wounded could receive requisite attention. 
We will hope that some feelings of humanity towards the 
unfortunate women and children, with which the huts were 
crowded, formed a part of his motives for this advice. 

The general inclined to Church's counsel, but other 
officers, fearing that the Indians would rally and attack 
them in force, should the army take up their quarters for 
the night, vehemently opposed him, and the work of de- 
struction proceeded. Now was reenacted the terrible scene 
at the fort of the Pequots. Great numbers of old men, 
women and children were burned alive in the blazing wig- 
wams, or mercilessly slain in their attempts to escape. 
Hubbard, the reverend historian of the Indian wars, speaks 
of this "firing of at least five or six hundred of their 
smoaky cells," as follows: The Indians were about pre- 
paring their dinner when "our sudden and unexpected 
assault put them beside that work, making their cook- 
room too hot for them at that time, when they and their 
mitchin fried together; and probably some of them eat 
their suppers in a colder place that night : Most of their 
provisions, as well as huts, being then consumed with fire, 
and those that were left alive forced to hide themselves in 
a cedar swamp, not far off, where they had nothing to de- 
fend them from the cold but boughs of spruce and pine 
trees." The whole town was reduced to ashes; and, leav- 



252 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



ing the inclosure a smoking ruin, every where strewn with 
burned and mangled corpses, the army commenced a re- 
treat, worn out by cold, fatigue and hunger. Many per- 
ished by the way, and many more must have died from 
starvation, but for the fortunate arrival at their rendezvous 
of a vessel from Boston with provisions. 

Eighty of their number were killed, and one hundred 
and fifty wounded in the engagement. Besides an untold 
number of the helpless occupants of the wigwams who 
perished in the flames, it was supposed that not far from 
three hundred Indian warriors were slain outright, and 
seven hundred wounded, of whom many died from expo- 
sure during the storm and cold of that terrible night. 

Most of the survivors of the tribe fled to the Mpmucks, 
after some inconclusive negotiation for peace with the Eng- 
lish. The old sachem Ninigret seems to have been inclined 
to make terms, but Canonicus, or Canonchet, a son of Mian- 
tonimo, and a brave and energetic chief, nourished the most 
unyielding hostility towards the destroyer of his people. 

On the 10th of January, an Indian was found concealed 
in a barn, "but after he was brought to the head-quarters" 
(in the words of Hubbard) "he would own nothing but 
what was forced out of his mouth by the woolding of his 
head with a cord, wherefore he was presently judged to die, 
as a Wampanoag." 

One Tift, an English renegade, who had joined the In- 
dians, married one of their women, and assisted them in 
their battles with the whites, was taken and put to death. 

Winslow, in the latter part of January, pursued the 
Karragansetts into the Nipmuck country, whither they 
had fled, committing divers depredations on the route, and 
killed about seventy of those whom he could come up 
with. The larger portion, however, succeeded in joining 
the forces of the Mpmucks, while the English were com- 
pelled to return to the settlement for want of provisions. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



253 



Philip is supposed to have fled about this time as far 
west as the Hudson river, where, it is said, "the Mohags 
(Mohawks) made a descent upon him, and killed many 
of his men, which moved him from thence." Some au- 
thors, notwithstanding, speak of him as having been pres- 
ent at various places in Massachusetts, attacked by Indians 
during the latter part of the winter. 

About the 10th of February, (old style,) Lancaster was 
destroyed by a large force of the enemy, consisting of Nip- 
mucks, Nashawas, and Narragansetts, under the noted 
Sagamore Sam. The house of Mr. Eowlandson, the minis- 
ter, which was garrisoned, and contained fifty-five persons, 
was set on fire, and the inmates were killed or made cap- 
tives. More than twenty women and children fell into 
the hands of the assailants. They were most of them 
well treated during their captivity, the Indians "offering 
no wrong to any of their persons save what they could 
not help, being in many wants themselves." Mrs. Eow- 
landson, wife of the minister, was among the prisoners, 
and her account of Indian manners and peculiarities, wit- 
nessed during the three months of her captivity, are ex- 
ceedingly interesting. 

Church says that Philip's next " kennelling-place " was 
at the falls on the Connecticut, and he probably gave di- 
rections concerning many of the devastations committed 
in February and March, if not personally present at them. 

On the 21st of February, the town of Medfield, only 
about twenty miles from Boston, was mostly destroyed. 
The Indians had concealed themselves, during the previ- 
ous night, in every quarter of the place, and, at early 
dawn, fired about fifty buildings simultaneously. One hun- 
dred and sixty soldiers were quartered in the town, but 
so sudden and well concerted was the attack, that it was 
impossible to save the buildings which had been set on 
fire. Nearly forty of the inhabitants were killed or 



25i 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



wounded. Being compelled, at last, to retreat across 
Charles river, the Indians burned the bridge behind them, 
and left a paper, written by some of their number who had 
received education from the English, to the following 
effect: "Know, by this paper, that the Indians whom thou 
hast provoked to wrath and anger, will war this 21 years 
if you will There are many Indians yet. We come 800 
at this time. You must consider the Indians lose nothing 
but their life: You must lose your fair houses and cattle." 

One account states that Philip himself was seen at this 
action, "riding upon a black horse, leaping over fences, 
and exulting in the havoc he was making." 

Through the months of February and March, the sav- 
ages met with signal success. Seekonk, Groton' and War- 
wick were destroyed; Northampton was assaulted; one 
house was burned in the very town of Plymouth, and a 
number of buildings at Weymouth, only eleven miles from 
Boston, shared a similar fate. Thirty houses were burned j 
at Providence. Captain Pierce, of Scituate, who had been 
sent with a party of fifty whites and a number of friendly 
Indians on an excursion against the enemy, was slain, 
with the entire company of English. Only a few of the 
Indian allies escaped. 

On the same day, Marlborough was destroyed, with the 
exception of the houses which had been garrisoned. This 
attack was probably made by Philip himself, with the 
Nipmuck and Narragansett Indians. Continuing their 
march, they did much damage at Sudbury, and "met and 
swallowed up valiant Captain Wadsworth and his com- 
pany," consisting of fifty men, with whom he was hastening 
to the relief of the town. 

One of the first severe reverses experienced by Philip, 
was the capture and execution of the younger Canonicus 
or Canonchet, the noblest and most influential of the Nar- 
ragansett sachems. This was, accomplished by a party 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



255 



led by Captain Dennison, from Connecticut, consisting of 
English, Nehantic Indians, subject to Ninigret, and Mohe- 
gans, under the command of Owenoco, son of Uncas. 
Canonchet, with a small band of warriors, came to ISTarra- 
gansett early in April, for the purpose of procuring seed- 
corn for his people in the western settlements. Dennison, 
having heard, from a captive squaw, of the sachem's 
proximity, pursued and took him. 

The proud chief, upon his capture, being addressed by 
a young man of the party, according to Hubbard, "look- 
ing, with a little neglect upon his youthful face, replied in 
broken English: 'you much child: no understand matters 
of war ; let your brother or your chief come :' acting herein 
as if, by a Pythagorean metempsychosis, some old Eoman 
ghost had possessed the body of this western Pagan." He 
was carried to Stonington, and there shot : his head was 
sent to Hartford as a trophy. He approved his sentence, 
saying that "he should die before his heart was soft, and 
before he had spoken any thing unworthy of himself." 
He had been Philip's faithful ally to the last, and ever 
refused to "deliver up a Wampanoag, or the paring of a 
Wampanoag's nail," to the English. Dennison and his 
men afterwards made further spoil of the enemy, killing 
and capturing a large number of the Narragansetts. 

During the months of April and May, twenty or thirty 
buildings were burned in Plymouth ; Taunton and Scituate 
were attacked, and Bridge water sustained no small injury 
from an assault by three hundred Indians, under the 
sachem Tisguogen. 

Great numbers of hostile Indians having congregated at 
the falls of the Connecticut, during the month of May, for 
the purpose of fishing, a strong force of soldiers and inhab- 
itants of the towns on the river, under the command of 
Captains Holyoke and Turner, made a descent upon them. 
The Indians were encamped in careless security, and, the 



256 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



attack being made in the night, some two hundred were 
killed, or drowned in attempting to escape across the river. 
In the midst of this success it was reported to the English, 
by an Indian, that Philip in person, with an immense 
force, was coming upon them. Commencing a retreat, 
upon this news, the Indians recovered from their panic, 
and pursuing the party from which they had so recently 
fled in confusion, killed from thirty to forty of their number. 

On the 30th of May, six hundred Indians attacked 
Hatfield, and burned many buildings, but the place was 
bravely defended, and the enemy was driven off. A still 
larger number, about a fortnight later, assaulted Hadley, 
but, by the assistance of troops from Connecticut, the in 
habitants successfully repelled them. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Philip's return to pokanoket— major talcott's successes- 
church COMMISSIONED BY THE COURT AT PLYMOUTH HIS IN- 
TERVIEW WITH AWOSHONKS : WITH THE SOGKONATES AT 

SANDWICH HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS 

PHILIP SEEN: HIS WIFE AND SON TAKEN— 
DEATH OF WEETAMORE, QUEEN OF POCAS- 
SET DEATH OF PHILIP. 

Philip's power was now upon the decline: his forces 
were discontented, and in separate bodies wandered about 
the country, undergoing much hardship and privation. 
Losing influence with the river Indians, and unable to 
concentrate the various tribes, with effect, he returned to 
his old quarters in the vicinity of Narragansett bay, ac- 
companied by the trusty warriors who still adhered to him. 

Major Talcott, from Connecticut, with a body of mounted 
men, accompanied by many Mohegans and Pequots, sig- j 

j 1 1 

i — — _i 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



257 



| nalized himself during the month of June, by several 
incursions into Narragansett. On a single occasion, he 
killed a great number of the enemy, and took from one to 
two hundred prisoners. To the everlasting disgrace of 

; | the whites of this company, they allowed their Mohegan 

! j allies, upon one occasion, to torture to death a young 

j warrior who was made prisoner. "The English," says 
Hubbard, "at this time were not unwilling to gratify their 

| humor, lest, by a denial, they might disoblige their Indian 
friends— partly, also, that they might have an ocular 
demonstration of the savage, barbarous cruelty of the 

j heathen." This young warrior had killed, as he averred, 
many Englishmen, and now, the narrative proceeds, "this 
monster is fallen into the hands of those that will repay 
him seven-fold." 

The Mohegans cut round the joints of his fingers and 

! toes successively, and then "brock them off, as was for- 
j : merly the custom to do with a slaughtered beast." The 

| victim bore all unflinchingly; replying to their taunts, 
with asseverations that he "liked the war well, and found 
j it as sweet as the Englishmen do their sugar." They 
compelled him to dance and sing in this condition, till he 
had "wearied himself and them," and then broke his le^s. 

| Sinking, in silence, on the ground, he sat till they finished 

| his miseries by a blow. Meanwhile, the English stood by, 

; and, although the sight brought tears into the eyes of 

j some of them, none offered to interfere. 

Famine, disease, and exposure had, by this time, begun 

| to do their work upon the miserable outcasts who had so 

| long kept New England in terror. 

A large body fled westward, pursued by troops from 
Connecticut, and, after sustaining considerable loss, suc- 

I ceeded in joining the Moliicans of the Hudson, with whom 
they united, and formed thereafter a portion of that tribe. 
The colonial authorities now offered terms of peace to 



253 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the enemy, promising good treatment to all who should 
surrender and deliver up their arms, with the exception 
of notorious offenders. Within a few weeks from this 
proclamation, five or six hundred of the Indians came in 
and submitted to the English. Some of their chiefs, and 
noted warriors, and those who had been chiefly concerned 
in the outrages upon the settlements, weie put to death ; 
the others had lands assigned them ; were disarmed, and 
kept under the surveillance of overseers. 

As Church took so prominent a part in the final reduc- 
tion of Philip and his chief sachems, we will now briefly 
review his proceedings during this summer until the death 
of Philip and the close of the war. He had been sum- 
moned to Plymouth in the spring, to assist at the council 
of war, and, at that time, proffered advice, which, if ap- 
proved by his associates, might have saved much havoc 
and bloodshed. His plan was to "make a business of the 
war, as the enemy did;" to employ large forces; to enlist 
all the friendly Indians who were available, and to pursue 
their opponents into their own country, and fight them in 
their own manner. Not being able to persuade the au- 
thorities to his views, he remained inactive, with his 
family, at Duxbury and on Khode Island, until early in 
June, when he again betook himself to Plymouth, where 
he was gladly welcomed by the general court, then in 
session. The members "told him they were glad to see 
him alive. He replied, he was as glad to see them alive, 
for he had seen so many fires and smokes towards their 
side of the country, since he left them, that he could 
scarce eat or sleep with any comfort, for fear they had all 
been destroyed. For all traveling was stopped, and no 
news had passed for a long time together." 

The court had now concluded, according to Church's 
plan, to raise a large force of English and Indians, and 
eagerly accepted the captain's offer of cooperation. He 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



259 



was to return to Ehode Island, and there enlist a company 
for the campaign. Eeaching Elizabeth's Island, he could 
find no conveyance homeward other than a canoe, manned 
by two Indians. Their course took them near Sogkonate 
(commonly called Seaconnet) point, the wild mass of 
rocks which juts into the ocean, at the southern extremity 
of Awoshonk's domains. Church saw, some of the Indians 
fishing upon the rocks, and bethought him that here might 
be further opportunity of communicating with his old 
friend, the squaw sachem. Notwithstanding her early 
counsel with Church, she, or her people, against her incli- 
nations, had been drawn into Philip's plans, and the 
Sogkonates had taken active part in the hostilities. 

The canoe was soon hailed from shore, but the surf beat 
so heavily against the rocks that the reply could not be 
heard. Two Indians, one of whom was George, the inter- 
preter, therefore came out upon a long point of sand, 
where Church could land without danger of being surprised, 
and, on his approach, they informed him that Awoshonks 
had left Philip, and would be glad to have a conference 
with him. An appointment was therefore made for a 
meeting, on the next day that the weather would permit, 
at a well-known rock, upon the Eichmond farm. None 
were to be present except the queen, her son Peter, and 
Nompash, an Indian known to Church. 

Arriving at Newport, and detailing his plans to the 
authorities, they pronounced him demented to think of 
risking himself unprotected among such a body of the 
enemy. He replied that he had always wished for an 
opportunity to confer with the Sogkonates, not doubting 
but that he could secure their friendship, and that he was 
determined to prosecute the adventure. 

He accordingly crossed over the next day, to the place 
appointed, accompanied only by "his own man," and the 
Indian who had paddled him from Elizabeth's. He was 



260 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



; met by the queen and the other two, who had been desig- 
1 1 nated; but, upon retiring a short distance, to a convenient 
j j spot for discussion, a crowd of armed and painted war- 
riors sprang up from amid the long grass around them. 
Church betrayed no signs of surprise or fear, but, having 

| first obtained directions from Awoshonks that the Indians 
should lay down their guns, he pulled out a bottle of rum, j 
and opened the conference by proffering her a dram, ask- | 
ing, "if she had been so long at Weetuset as to forget to 
drink Occapeches." Having first swallowed some him- 
self, from the hollow of his hand, to quiet any suspicions 
of treachery that she might entertain, he distributed the 
rest, together with some tobacco that he had brought, 
among those standing by. He then answered her inquir- 
ies as to the reasons why he had absented himself so long, 
using all his powers of persuasion to revive her old friend- 
ship for the English ; promising favor and protection from 
the government, if she would enlist her forces against 

I Philip ; and by his bold and frank demeanor, disarming 

; the suspicions and softening the surliness of the warriors. 
At one time, as related by Church, "there arose a mighty 

| murmur, confused noise and talk among the fierce-looking 
creatures; and, all rising up in a hubbub, a great surly- 
looking fellow took up his tomhog, or wooden cutlass, to 

I kill Mr. Church, but some others prevented him." 

This man had lost a brother in the fight at Punkatese, 

| but Church explained how, with only a handful of men, 
he had been suddenly set upon, and how his intentions 
were, even then, friendly to the Sogkonates. 

His counsels finally prevailed, and it was agreed that j 
an offer of services should be made at Plymouth, in be- 

| half of the tribe; five men being chosen to accompany j 

| Church on the embassy. 

Having returned to Ehode Island, and, with much dif- 
ficulty, procured a vessel, Captain Church set sail for Sog- 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



261 



konate, whence the Indians espied him, and stood waiting 
upon the rocks with an old canoe, ready to come on board. 
The sea ran so high that no one but Peter Awoshonks was 
able to reach the vessel ; and when, after much danger and 
trouble, he was taken in, a strong head wind prevented 
the prosecution of the voyage, and all returned to New- 
port, making the circuit of Ehode Island. 

Church, after this delay — the arrival of the army at 
Pocasset being shortly expected — was unwilling to leave 
the Island, and accordingly sent Peter back to Sogkonate, 
with directions to take the selected number of his com- 
panions, and proceed across the country to Plymouth, with 
letters for the governor. 

The Plymouth forces reached Pocasset, under command 
of Major Bradford, and, having been joined by Church, 
marched to Punkatese. Awoshonks and most of her war- 
riors, having been notified to attend, came to this place, 
and proffered their services ; but, to their great grief and 
disappointment, were ordered to repair to Sandwich, on 
the coast to the eastward, and await further directions 
from the government at Plymouth. Church advised them 
to comply quietly, and promised to join them, himself 
within a week, with a commission to employ them, if he 
could obtain it. 

During the ensuing week, according to the opinion of 
some, an opportunity was lost of surprising and destroy- 
ing nearly the whole of Philip's remaining force, who had 
gone to Wepoiset, in search of clams; provisions being 
very scarce with them. 

Captain Church, with only one companion, rode from 
Eehoboth to Plymouth, starting at sunset, and reaching 
the town early in the morning. He there saw the gov- 
ernor, who had received the messengers from Sogkonate 
with favor, and who readily promised him the desired 
commission, and ratified his agreement with Awoshonks. 



262 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Not finding the Indians at Sandwich, Captain Church, 
with a few companions, proceeded along the coast, and 
finally came upon the whole tribe, scattered over the level 

! sand-beach, engaged in various occupations and diver- 
sions — "A vast company of Indians, of all ages and sexes, 
some on horse-back running races, some at foot-ball, some 
catching eels and flat-fish, some clamming, &c." 

He was received by Awoshonks and her chiefs, and ! i 
royally entertained. When night came on, an immense 
heap of dry pine branches and other fuel was set on fire, 
and all the Indians, gathering round it, commenced those 
dances and ceremonies deemed by them so essential in 
cementing a league, or in entering upon any important 

I adventure. 

A stout chief would step within the circle, armed with 
spear and hatchet, and appear to fight the fire, with every 
gesture and expression of energy and firry, naming suc- 
cessively the several hostile tribes ; " and, at the naming of 
I every particular tribe of Indians, he would draw out and 
fight a new fire-brand, and at finishing his fight with each 
particular fire-brand, would bow to him and thank him." 
He would then retire, and another would repeat the same 
operation, "with more fury, if possible, than the first," 

Awoshonks and the chiefs told Church that hereby they 
were his sworn soldiers, and, one and all, at his service. 
He therefore selected a number of them, and took them to 
Plymouth the next day, where he was regularly commis- 
sioned, by Governor Winslow, to raise volunteers, both 
English and Indian ; to fight the enemy at his discretion ; 
and to make treaty and composition with any, as he should 
see reason, "provided they be not murderous rogues, or 
such as have been principal actors in those villanies." The 
commission was given, under the public seal, the 24th day 
of July, 1676. 

Being now furnished with a sufficient force, and being 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



263 



at liberty to carry out his own plans, Church commenced 
a vigorous and effective campaign. Spreading through 
the forest with his men, keeping himself continually in- 
formed by scouts of the position and number of the ene- 
my, and following up his advantages with unwearied 
energy, he reduced his opponents to the greatest straits. 
The army, under Bradford, remained at Taunton and vi- 
cinity, cutting off Philip's return from the eastward, while 
Church and his corps scoured the woods, surprising and 
killing, or taking captive large numbers of hostile Indians. 

On one occasion, he fell in with Little Eyes, the Sog- 
konate who attempted to make way with him at the first 
interview with Awoshonks, and who had separated from 
the rest of the tribe with a few companions. His Indian 
allies urged Church to take this opportunity for revenging 
himself, but he refused, and showed the unfriendly chief 
quarter and protection. 

Philip and his party, chiefly Narragansetts, anxious to 
effect a retreat to the 2x arragansett country, came to the 
banks of Taunton river, and felled a large tree over the 
stream for the purpose of crossing. At this spot, Church 
with his company and a detachment from Bridgewater, 
attacked him, on the 1st of August. As the English 
! secretly approached the fallen tree, a single warrior was 
| seen seated upon the stump across the river, and as Church 
was taking aim at him, one of his Indian followers called 
to him not to fire, thinking that it was a man of their own 
party. At this moment the Indian sprang from the stiimp, 
and effected his escape down the river-bank, but as he 
i turned his face, he was distinctly recognized to be Philip 
himself. 

The whole body of the enemy then scattered and fled 
through the woods, but succeeded in effecting a passage 
j of the river at a ford, some distance beyond ; hotly pur- 
! sued by the English. Many women and children were 



264 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



captured; among the rest, Philip's wife, Wootonekanuske, 
and his son, a lad only nine years of age. The Sogkon- 
ates, following closely upon the fugitives, killed several, 
and made thirteen prisoners. 

As the flight was continued, the women and children 
became wearied, and, being unable to keep pace with the 
company, fell into the hands of the pursuers. They were 
ordered to follow the trail, and were assured that, if 
submissive and obedient, they should be the more favor- 
ably treated. 

Philip, and his band, being suddenly surprised, while 
they were busily engaged in preparing breakfast, fled into 
a swamp, leaving "their kettles boiling, and meat roasting 
upon their wooden spits." Here they were hemmed in, 
and, after some hard fighting, no less than one hundred 
and seventy-three, including those who had followed the 
party, as directed, were taken prisoners or killed. A 
large division of these were so surprised and panic-struck 
by the number and determination of the pursuers, that 
| they "stood still and let the English come and take the 
| guns out of their hands, when they were both charged and 
cocked." Philip, and some of his principal chiefs, escaped. 

The prisoners, having been well supplied with food, 
were confined in the pound, at Bridgewater, and passed 
the night in merriment, expressing little despondency or 
apprehension. They reported Philip's condition and frame 
of mind as being miserable in the extreme. His wife and 
son made prisoners; his allies overpowered, or treacher- 
ous; reverses coming thick upon him; and his force 
dwindling to a handful of warriors, nothing but destruction 
seemed to await him. 

On the 6th of August, Weetamore, queen of Pocasset, 
and widow of Alexander, Philip's eldest brother, who 
throughout the war had been a most valuable and faithful 
coadjutor to her brother-in-law, perished in attempting to 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 265 

escape over the Tehticut river, into her own country, upon 
a raft. She had been surprised, with twenty -six of her 
subjects, who were all taken prisoners. The dead body 
of the poor queen was found stark naked, near the river 
bank, where she had probably crouched half drowned, and 
died from exposure and famine. Her head was cut off by 
those who discovered her, and fixed upon a pole at Taun- 
ton, where it was recognized by some of her loving 
subjects kept there in captivity. Their burst of unre- 
strainable grief at the sight, is characterized by Mather, as 
"a most horrid and diabolical lamentation." 

Church returned to Plymouth, where he received the 
thanks and gratulations of the authorities, but was allowed 
little rest, as some of the enemy, under the great sachem 
Totoson, were lurking around Dartmouth, and his aid was 
required to dislodge them. The expedition was successful, 
but Totoson, with an old squaw and his little son, escaped. 
The squaw afterwards came to Sandwich, and reported the 
chief s death, saying that, "reflecting upon the miserable 
condition he had brought himself into, his heart became a 
stone within him, and he died." She said that she had 
covered his body with a few leaves and brush. 

Worn out by hard service, hard fare, and exposure, 
Captain Church now sought to recruit his strength by rest ; 
but, being urged by the government to pursue Philip to 
the death, and receiving promises of satisfaction for former 
neglect, he marched to Pocasset with a company of volun- 
teers, and thence crossed over to Ehode Island. 

He there visited his wife, whom he had left at a Mrs. 
Sandford's, and who fainted with surprise and joy at 
meeting him alive ; but hardly had the first greetings 
been exchanged, when tidings came post that Philip was 
to be found at his old quarters in Mount Hope neck. The 
horses upon which Church and his companions had just 
arrived stood at the door ; and, telling Mrs. Church that 



266 



INDIAN* RACES OF AMERICA. 



"she must content herself with a short visit when such 
game was ahead," they all mounted and spurred off. 

They learned from the deserter who had brought the 
intelligence, that Philip was encamped upon a spot of dry 
land in a swamp hard by the mount ; and Church being 
well acquainted with the locality, lost no time in taking 
advantage of his information. He crossed the ferry with 
his men, and approached the spot during the night. 
Having distributed a portion of the force in such a manner 
as to command all the places where the enemy would be 
likely to attempt escape, another detachment, under Captain 
Golding, proceeded to "beat up Philip's head-quarters;" 
with directions to make all the noise possible, while pur- 
suing the fugitives, that they might be known by those 
who lay in ambush. 

The Indians, startled by the first fire, rushed into the 
swamp, with Philip at their head. Half clothed, and 
flinging his "petunk" and powder-horn behind him, the 
doomed chief came, at full speed, fully within range of the 
guns of an Englishman and an Indian, who lay concealed 
at one of the points of ambuscade. 

The white man's gun snapped, but the fire of his com- 
panion was fatal. Philip fell upon his face in the mire, 
shot through the heart. This event took place early in 
in the morning of Saturday, the 12th of August, 1676, 

Thus the main object of the campaign was accomplished; 
but most of the hostile party managed to escape. Among 
them was the old chief, Annawon, a great captain under 
Philip, and Massasoit, his father. Pie "seemed to be a 
great surly old fellow," hallooing, with a loud voice, 
"Iootask — Iootash!" Peter, Church's man, said that he 
was calling on his men to fight bravely, and hold their 
ground. 

Several of Church's Indians dragged the body of poor 
Philip out of the mire, "and a doleful, great, naked beast 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



267 



he looked." By the direction of the captain, who averred 
that, having "caused many an Englishman's body to be 
unburied and to rot above ground, not one of his bones 
should be buried," one of the Indians beheaded and quar- 
tered the body of the fallen sachem, as was the custom 
towards traitors. The old executioner, who was appointed 
to this office, first made a short speech, which, but that it 
was rather more coarsely expressed, might remind one of 
the exultation of the heroes of Homer over a conquered foe. 

However far removed from that absurd and morbid 
sensibility which perceives greater tokens of depravity in 
an indignity offered to a senseless carcass than in acts of 
cruelty and injustice towards the living, we do not care to 
defend this act of Church. One of Philip's hands, which 
had been formerly marred by the bursting of a pistol, was 
given to Alderman, the Indian who shot him. The ex- 
hibition of it proved a source of no small profit. The head 
was long exposed at Plymouth, and the devout Mather 
exults in having, with his own hand, displaced the jaw 
from the scull of "that blasphemous leviathan." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PURSUIT OF ANNAWON AND HIS PARTY DARING PROCEDURE OF 

CAPTAIN CHURCH END OF THE WAR, AND FINAL DISPOSAL 

OF PRISONERS SUMMARY OF THE COLONIAL LOSSES. 

After the death of Philip, the company returned to 
Plymouth, and received, as premium for their services, 
thirty shillings for each Indian killed or taken. 

Toward the end of August, Church was again called 
from Plymouth to go in pursuit of Annawon, who, with 
the feeble remains of his force, was scouring the country 



268 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

around Rehoboth and Swansey. He accordingly took a 
few faithful soldiers, with his brave and tried lieutenant, 
Jabez Howland, and hastened through the woods to Po- 
casset. He intended passing the Sabbath on Rhode Island, 
but hearing that Indians had been seen crossing from 
Prudence Island to Poppasquash neck, he hastened at 
once in quest of them. As they were passing the river 
in canoes, so heavy a gale sprung up that, after the captain 
and fifteen or sixteen Indians were over, the boats could 
no longer venture. Without waiting for their English 
companions, this little company marched round through 
the northern part of the present town of Bristol, and 
spreading across the narrow portion of the neck, sent 
scouts to ascertain the position of the enemy. They there 
passed "a very solitary, hungry night," having no provi- 
sions. Early in the morning, Nathaniel, an Indian of the 
scouting party, appeared, and told how he, with his com- 
panion, had taken ten prisoners, by lying concealed, and 
attracting the enemies' attention by howling like a wolf. 
One after another, they would run to see what caused the 
noise, and Nathaniel, "howling lower and lower, drew 
them in between those who lay in wait." They afterwards 
secured the wives and children of these captives, all of 
whom said that Annawon never " roosted twice in a place," 
but continually shifted his quarters. They represented 
Annawon as the bravest and most subtle of all Philip's 
warriors, and said that the men who still adhered to him 
were valiant and resolute. 

An old Indian, accompanied by a young squaw, were 
next taken, both of whom had come direct from the great 
chief's encampment, which was in Squannaconk swamp, 
in the south-easterly part of Rehoboth. The old man, in 
consideration that his life was spared, agreed to pilot 
Church to the spot, but begged that he might not be com- 
pelled "to fight against Captain Annawon, his old friend." 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



269 



It was a bold act, indeed, on the part of Church., to under- 
take the capture of such a warrior, with so small a force ; 
for, having been obliged to send some back with the 
prisoners, only half a dozen Indians now accompanied 
him. He was not a man to let slip an opportunity, and 
started at once for the camp, having much ado to keep 
pace with the hardy old Indian who led the way. 

Annawon's "camp or kennelling place," was pitched 
in a recess in a ledge of precipitous rocks, which stood 
upon a rising ground in the swamp, and the only way to 
approach it unperceived was by clambering down the cliff. 
It was night when Church arrived there; stopping the 
guide with his hand, he crawled to the edge of the rock, 
and looked down upon the scene below. Annawon's hut 
consisted of a tree felled against the wall of rock, with 
birch bushes piled against it. Fires were lit without, over 
which meat was roasting and kettles were boiling, and the 
light revealed several companies of the enemy. Their 
arms were stacked together, and covered with a mat, and 
in close proximity to them lay old Annawon and his son. 
An old squaw was pounding corn in a mortar, and, as the 
noise of her blows continued, Church, preceded by the 
guide and his daughter, and followed by his Indian allies, 
let himself down by the bushes and twigs which grew in 
the crevices of the rock. With his hatchet in his hand, 
he stepped over the younger Annawon, who drew himself 
into a heap with his blanket over his head, and reached 
the guns. The old chief sat up, crying out " Howoh !" but, 
seeing that he was taken, lay down again in silence. The 
rest of the company made no resistance, supposing that 
the English were upon them in force. Church's Indians, 
going among them, enlarged upon his benevolence and 
kindness, and advised them to submit quietly, which they 
did, delivering up all their arms. 

Annawon ordered his women to get supper for Captain 



270 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

Church, and his men, and they all supped together in har- 
mony. The Captain, wearied out by long watching and 
labor, now tried to get a little sleep, but was unable to 
compose himself. Looking round he saw the whole party, 
friends and foes, sleeping soundly, with the exception of 
Annawon ; and there lay the two rival leaders, looking at 
each other for near an hour. 

Annawon then got up and retired a short distance, and, 
as he did not immediately return, Church suspected that 
he might have secured a gun, with intent to dispatch him, 
and therefore crept close to young Annawon, as security. 
The old man soon reappeared, bringing with him Philip's 
regalia, and, kneeling down before Church, to his great 
surprise, addressed him in English: "Great captain, you 
have killed Philip and conquered his country ; for I believe 
that I and my company are the last that war against the Eng- 
lish, so suppose the war is ended by your means, and there- 
fore these things belong to you." He then handed him 
two broad belts elaborately worked in wampum, one of 
which reached from the shoulders nearly to the ground, 
" edged with red hair, from the Mahog's country ;" two horns j 
of powder, and a red cloth blanket. He said that Philip 
used to ornament himself with these upon great occasions. 

All night long the two captains continued their con- 
verse, and Annawon detailed his adventures, and "gave 
an account of what mighty success he had formerly, in 
wars against many nations of Indians, when he served 
Asumequin (Massasoit), Philip's father." 

The next day the party proceeded to Taunton, and 
Church, with Annawon in his company, went to Ehode 
Island, and so on to Plymouth. There, to his great sor- 
row, the authorities refused to spare the old chief, but put 
him to death. At the same time they executed Tispaquin, 
the last of Philip's great sachems, who had surrendered 
himself upon promise of mercy. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



271 



The war was now at an end, with the exception of a 
few "hunting excursions," after some stragglers of Philip's 
men who yet lurked in the woods. Such of the prisoners, 
now in the hands of the English, as had been active in 
hostilities, were put to death : the rest were sold in slavery 
in the colonies, or sent to toil in the West Indies. It was 
much discussed whether the poor boy who was so culpa- 
ble as to be the son of Philip, should die. The clergymen 
seemed inclined to the belief that such should be his fate ; 
Increase Mather cited the case of Hadad, saying that, 
"had not others fled away with him, I am apt to think 
that David would have taken a course that Hadad should 
never have proved a scourge to the next generation." He 
was finally sent a slave to Bermuda. 

Baylies thus sums up the disasters of the eventful period 
of Philip's hostilities: "In this war, which lasted but lit- 
tle more than a year and a half, six hundred Englishmen 
were killed. Thirteen towns in Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
and Eh ode Island, were destroyed, and many others greatly 
injured. Almost every family had lost a relative. Six 
hundred dwelling-houses had been burned. A vast amount, 
in goods and cattle, had been destroyed, and a vast debt 
created. But the result of the contest was decisive ; the 
enemy was extinct; the fertile wilderness was opened, and 
the rapid extension of settlements evinced the growing 
prosperity of New England." 



272 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1 THE EASTERN INDIANS — THEIR FRIENDLY DISPOSITION — SEIZURE 

OF THOSE IMPLICATED IN PHILIP'S CONSPIRACY FRENCH AND 

INDIAN WAR OF 1689 — ATTACK ON COCHECO MURDER 

OF MAJOR WALDRON "WAR OF 1702 CHURCH'S 

LAST CAMPAIGN — WAR OF 1722 CAPTAIN 

JOHN LOVE WELL. 

The services of Captain Benjamin Church, in the early 
Indian campaigns, did not end with the death of Philip 
and the reduction of the hostile tribes united by that chief 
in enmity against the colonists. In the war which after- 
wards broke out with the Indians of New Hampshire 
and Maine, the old soldier was again called upon to take 
the field. ' 

Our accounts of the early history of these Eastern tribes 
are not very voluminous or connected. Some description 
is given, in Captain John Smith's narrative, of the gov- 
ernment and division of the nations and tribes on the coast ; 
and, in subsequent times, tales of noted sagamores and war- 

I riors, with detached incidents of adventure, are not want- j 
ing in interest. 

The first English settlers in Maine and New Hampshire 
had little to complain of in the treatment they received 
from the aboriginal inhabitants: according to Hubbard, 
'•Ever since the first settling of any English plantation 
in those parts about Kennebeck, for the space of about 
fifty years, the Indians always carried it fair, and held 
good correspondence with the English, until the news came 

; of Philip's rebellion and rising against the inhabitants of 
Plimouth colony in the end of June, 1675; after which 
time it was apprehended by such as had the examination 
of the Indians about Kennebeck, that there was a general 
surmise amongst them that they should be required to 



Capt. Benjamin Church. 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



273 



assist the said Philip, although they would not own that 
| they were at all engaged in the quarrel." 

When Philip's forces were destroyed or dispersed, many 
of them took refuge at the East, and the search for and 
| seizure of these served to arouse and keep alive hostile 
feelings which might otherwise have slumbered. By the 
contrivance of Major Waldron, a noted character among 
| the first settlers at Cocheco (afterwards Dover), in New 
I Hampshire, some four hundred Indians, of various tribes, 
were decoyed into the power of the colonial troops by 
the pretence of a sham-fight exhibition. They were then 
j examined, and all who were adjudged to have been con- 
nected with the war, to the number of over two hundred, 
were sent to Boston, where eight or ten of them were 
hanged, and the rest were sold as slaves. 

Many scenes of depredation and bloodshed are described 
1 by historians of those early times previous to the regular 
i campaigns of 1689, and the years ensuing, against the 
French and Indians. During the war of 1675-6, connected 
i with Philip's conspiracy, the most important affairs were 
the burning, by the Indians, of the towns of Casco and ; 
Saco. Under the administration of Sir Edmund Andross, 
| the conflicting claims to territory in Maine, between the j 
j Baron of St. Castine and English proprietors, brought I 
| about a war in which the neighboring Indian tribes were 
I involved. With their usual success, the French excited 1 1 
the eastern Indians to espouse their cause, and a series of 
depredations upon the English colonists ensued. 

At Cocheco (Dover), Major Waldron was still in author- 
ity, with a considerable force under his command, occu- 
! pying five fortified buildings. In the summer of 1689, a 
party of Indians planned an attack upon this post, as well 
\ to strike a signal blow in behalf of their white allies, as j I 
to revenge the former wrong done to their friends by Wal- j 
dron. The English considered themselves perfectly secure, 1 



274: INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 

and kept no watch—a circumstance which had been ob- 
served by the enemy. On the 27th of June, two squaws 
obtained leave to sleep in each of the garrisoned houses. 
During the night they rose quietly, unbarred the doors, 
and, by appointed signals, announced to the warriors lurk- 
ing without that the time was propitious for an attack. 

The English were completely overpowered, fifty-two 
were killed or carried away captive; among the former 
was Major Waldrom The old warrior (he was eighty 
years of age) defended himself with astonishing strength j 
and courage, but was finally struck down from behind. 
Bruised and mangled, he was placed in a chair upon a 
table, and the savages, gathering round, glutted their long- 
cherished vengeance by cutting and torturing the helpless 
captive. He was in bad odor with the Indians for having, 
as they alledged, defrauded them in former trading trans- 
actions. It was reported among them that he used to 
"count his fist as weighing a pound, also that his accounts 
were not crossed out according to agreement." Placed as 
above mentioned, upon a table, some of them "in turns 
gashed his naked breast, saying, 'I cross out my account.' 
Then cutting a joint from his finger, would say, 'Will 
your fist weigh a pound now?'" — {Drake's edition of 
Church's Indian Wars) They continued these cruelties 
until he fainted from loss of blood, when they dispatched 
him. It is said, by the above author, that one of the | 
squaws, to whom was assigned the duty of betraying Wal- 
dron's garrison, felt some compunction at the act of treach- j 
ery, and endeavored, ineffectually, to warn the command- 
ant by crooning the following verse: 

"Oh, Major Waldo, 
You great sagamore, 
O what will you do, 
Indians at your door!" 

In September of this year (1689) Captain (now styled 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



275 



Major) Church was commissioned by the authorities of the 
United Colonies to prosecute the war in Maine, and he 
sailed accordingly with his forces for Casco Bay. He had 
with him two hundred and fifty volunteers, English and 
friendly Indians, and two companies from Massachusetts. 
His arrival was seasonable, as a large party of Indians 
and French was ascertained to be in the vicinity, intend- 
ing to destroy the place. Some smart skirmishing took 
place upon the succeeding day, but the enemy finally 
drew off. 

When afterwards ordered home with his troops, Church 
bestirred himself to bring about some action on the part 
of the government for the more effectual protection of the 
unfortunate inhabitants of Casco (the country in the vicin- 
ity of the present town of Portland), but in vain ; and in 
the ensuing spring the whole district was ravaged by the 
enemy. The English settlers at the East, after the event, 
no longer dared to remain exposed to attacks of the sav- 
ages, and, deserting their homes, collected at the fortified 
post at Wells, in the south of Maine. 

Church's second eastern expedition, in September, 1690, 
was against the Indian forts on the Androscoggin. With 
little resistance he drove off the occupants, released several 
English captives, and took prisoners several members of 
the families of the noted Sachems Warombo and Kanka- 
magus. A number of Indian prisoners were brutally mur- 
dered by the successful party; but two old squaws were 
left to deliver a message to their own people that Captain 
Church had been there, and with him many Indians for- 
merly adherents of King Philip ; and to report further, as 
a warning, what great success he had met with in the war 
against the great sachem. Word was also left that if the 
fugitives "had a mind to see their wives and children, they 
should come to Wells' garrison." With respect to the mas- 
sacre of prisoners on this occasion, we are left to infer that 



276 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



a portion of them, at least, consisted of women and children. 
The old narrative here as elsewhere is rather blind, and 
deficient in detail, but if the facts were as above suggested, 
the whole history of these Indian wars does not present 
a more revolting instance of cold-blooded barbarity. That 
the act was done by Church's orders, or that it was coun- 
tenanced by him, seems utterly incredible when compared 
with his usual course towards prisoners. Of one man, 
who was captured in the taking of Warombo's fort, it is 
said: "The soldiers being very rude, would hardly spare 
the Indian's life while in examination;" and it is possible 
that they might have committed the wanton butchery 
above mentioned without their commander's concurrence. 
We would not, however, endeavor to screen the guilty ; 
and if Church is to be held responsible for the murder, 
it certainly must leave a black and indelible stain upon 
his character. 

From the plundered fort Church proceeded to Casco, 
where he engaged the enemy, and beat them off, but not 
without the loss of about thirty of his own men in killed 
and wounded. 

In August, 1692, Church was again commissioned . by 
Sir William Phipps to undertake an expedition against 
the Indians at Penobscot; and, although he failed to sur- 
prise the enemy, who escaped in their canoes, he destroyed 
a quantity of their provision, and brought away a consid- 
erable amount of plunder. 

A force, sent into Maine, in 1693, under Major Con vers, 
was opposed by none of the natives, and, within a short 
time after, these miserable people were glad to conclude a 
treaty of peace with the English at Pemmaquid, where a 
strong fort had been erected in 1690. At this negotiation 
the hostile tribes delivered hostages as a security that they 
would cease depredations and renounce their allegiance to 
the French. Many of them were, notwithstanding, in- 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 277 

duced to join the invasion under M. de Villiere, in the 
following year. 

In this campaign, the first object was the destruction of 
the settlement on Oyster river, near Dover, New Hamp- 
shire, where twelve houses had been garrisoned and put 
in a state of defence. Five of these were forced, and 
nearly one hundred persons were killed or taken prisoners ; 
the other strongholds made a successful defence, but fifteen 
unprotected houses were burned. Nothing of special 
interest occurred in connection with the Eastern Indians 
from this time until 1696. During the summer of that 
year, some blood was shed by the savages at Portsmouth 
and Dover; but the most important occurrence of the 
season was the reduction of the strong fort at Pemmaquid 
by the enemy. Church was also engaged in another east- 
ern campaign in the months of August and September, 
but owing to orders received from the colonial authorities, 
he was impeded in the prosecution of his plans, and noth- 
ing of special moment was effected. 

In January, 1699, the war with the French being at an 
end, the Indians of Maine and New Hampshire entered 
into a treaty of peace with the English colonies — acknowl- 
edging, by their principal sachems, allegiance to the King 
of England. 

When war was again declared, in May, 1702, the old 
difficulties with the Indians were speedily renewed. Gov- 
ernor Dudley, of Massachusetts, endeavored to preserve 
peace with these tribes, and concluded a negotiation with 
many of their chiefs, at' Casco, in June of the following 
year. This appears to have been a mere blind on the part 
of the savages, then, as ever, favorable to the French ; for 
only a few weeks subsequent to the treaty, a simultaneous 
attack was made upon the eastern English settlements. 
Every thing fell before the enemy ; houses were burned, 
property of every kind was destroyed or plundered, and 



. I 278 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

one hundred and thirty of the inhabitants were slain or 
captured. 

The news of the terrible calamities attendant on the 
j destruction of Deerfleld, in the winter of 1703-4, combined 
i with what he had himself witnessed of Indian cruelties, 
incited Major Church to volunteer his further services: 
against the enemy. . "His blood boiled within him, mak- 
ing such impulses on his mind that he forgot all former 
treatments, which were enough to hinder any man, espe- 
cially the said Major Church, from doing any further ser- 
vice." His offers were gladly accepted, and a very con- 
siderable force was put under his command, with a good 
supply of whale-boats, the necessity for which he had seen 
in former campaigns along the irregular and indented 
coast of Maine. 

This was the last military duty undertaken by the old 
soldier, and it was performed with his usual skill and 
energy. The Indian towns of Minas and Chignecto were 
taken, and the enemy was successfully engaged at other 
points. The most noted event of the expedition was the 
night attack at Passamaquoddy. In the midst of the con- 
fusion incident to the marshalling of disorderly and undis- 
ciplined troops, an order was issued by Church for the 
destruction of a house, and of its inhabitants, who had 
refused to surrender. In his own words: "I hastily bid 
them pull it down, and knock them on the head, never ask- 
ing whether they were French or Indians— they being all 
enemies alike to me." In a note to this transaction, Mr. 
Drake says: "It does not appear, from a long career of 
useful services, that Church was ever rash or cruel. From 
the extraordinary situation of his men, rendered doubly 
critical by the darkness of the night, and the almost cer- 
tain intelligence that a great army of the enemy were at 
hand, is thought to be sufficient excuse for the measure." 
The major, in his own account, adds: "I most certainly 



NEW ENGLAND INDIANS. 



279 



know that I was in an exceeding great passion, but not 
with those poor miserable enemies ; for I took no notice 
of a half a dozen of the enemy, when at the same time I 
expected to be engaged with some hundreds of them. 
* * In this heat of action, every word that I then spoke 
I cannot give an account of; and I presume it is impossi- 
ble." Quarter was shown to all who came out and sub- 
mitted, upon requisition. 

From the close of the war, and the conclusion of peace 
with France, in 1713, until 1722, there was little to disturb 
the eastern frontier, further than some contentions between 
the colonists and Indians arising out of disputed titles to 
land. A Frenchman named Ealle, of the order of J esuits, 
resided, in 1721, among the Indians at Norridgewock, and 
being suspected by the English of exerting a pernicious 
influence over his flock, a party was sent, by the Massa- 
chusetts government, to seize upon his person. Ealle 
escaped, and the undertaking only hastened hostilities. 

Indian depredations soon commenced, and war was 
regularly declared by Massachusetts. For three years the 
frontier settlements suffered severely. The English suc- 
ceeded in breaking up the principal head-quarters of the 
enemy, viz: at the Indian castle some distance up the 
Penobscot, and at the village of Norridgewock. 

At the taking of the latter place, Ealle, with from fifty 
to a hundred of his Indian comrades, perished. 

One of the most noted among the English campaigners 
during this war, was the famous Captain John Lovewell, of 
Dunstable. His adventures, and particularly the fight at 
Pigwacket, on the Saco, in which he lost his life, were 
widely celebrated in the rude verse of the times. 

This engagement was the last important event of the 
war; the Indians were greatly reduced in numbers, and, 
when no longer stimulated and supported by the French, 
were incapable of any systematic warlike operations. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL OUTLINES OF CHARACTER, ETC. IMPRESSIONS OF THE 

INHABITANTS OF NEW ENGLAND RESPECTING THE IROQUOIS — < 
GARANGULA : HIS SPEECH TO M. DE LA BARRE. 

Noxe of the Indian nations of the United States have 
occupied a more important place in our national history, 
than the renowned confederacy which forms the subject of 
our present consideration. 

Various New England tribes were reduced to a disgraceful 
tribute to the imperious Mohags, Mawhawks, Mohawks or 
Maquas ; the great nation of Powhatan stood in awe of the 
warlike Massawomekes ; and those associated in this power- 
ful league had become a terror to all against whom they had 
lifted up their arms. They were called Iroquois by the 
French, who found their head- quarters on the St. Law- 
rei^ce, where Montreal now stands, at the beginning of the 
seventeenth century. Their native appellation was Aga- 
nuschioni (variously spelt and translated), and they were 
divided originally into five tribes. These were the Mo- 
hawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, the Onondagas and the 
Senecas. The Tuscaroras, from the south, were afterwards i 
united with them, and formed the sixth nation. Each 
tribe was sub-divided into classes, distinguished by the 
"totems," or symbols of the tortoise, the bear, the wolf, ! 
the beaver, the deer, the falcon, the plover, and the crane. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 281 

I Some very singular usages were connected with this elass- 
l ification. Among other things, marriage was prohibited 
; between individuals bearing the same totem, a restriction 
which operated strongly to extend the ties of family con- 
nection. Each of the nations was divided in the same 
manner, and the distinctive badge gave its bearer peculiar 
privileges among those of his own class, when away from 
home. 

The first military exploits recorded of the Iroquois, with 
the exception of native tradition, are their battles with 
the Adirondacks, in which they were engaged when first 
known by the French. Becoming skilled in war, and 
being of a bold, adventurous spirit, after finally defeating 
the Adirondacks, the five nations extended their conquests 
to the south and west. The Mohawks, although not the 
most numerous portion of the united tribes, furnished the 
fiercest and most redoubted warriors. To give an idea of 
the estimation in which they were held by the Indians of 
New England, we. cite the following account, given by 
Gookin, in his historical collections, written in 1674, of the 
first of the tribe with whom the eastern colonists held any 
intercourse. 

" These Maquas are given to rapine and spoil ; and had 
for several years been in hostility with our neighbour In- 
dians, as the Massachusetts, Pautuckets, &c., &c. And, in 
truth, they were, in time of war, so great a terrour to all 
the Indians before named, though ours were far more in 
number than they, the appearance of four or five Maquas 
in the woods, would frighten them from their habitations 
and cornfields, and reduce many of them to get together 
in forts." In September, of 1665, "there were five Maw- 
hawks or Maquas, all stout and lusty young men, and well 
armed, that came into one John Taylor's house, in Cam- 
bridge, in the afternoon. They were seen to come out 
from a swamp not far from the house." Each had a gun, 



282 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



pistol, hatchet, and long knife, and "the people of the 
house perceived that their speech was different from our 
neighbour Indians; for these Maquas speak hollow and 
I through the throat, more than our Indians ; and their lan- 
guage is understood but by yery few of our neighbour 
I Indians." 

It seems these Mohawks came with the intention of 
being apprehended, that they might see the ways of the 
| English, and display, at the same time, their own courage 
and daring. They made no resistance when a party came 
to seize them, but, "at their being imprisoned, and their 
being loaden with irons, they did not appear daunted or 
dejected; but as the manner of those Indians is, they sang 
night and day, when they were awake." 

On being brought before the court at Boston, they disa- j 
vowed any evil intent towards the English, saying that j 
they were come to avenge themselves upon their Indian 
enemies. "They were told that it was inhumanity, and j 
more like wolves than men to travel and wander so far 
from home merely to kill and destroy men, women, and 
children, — for they could get no riches of our Indians, j 
who were very poor, — and to do this in a secret skulking j 
manner, lying in ambushment, thickets, and swamps, by | 
the way side, and so killing people in a base and ignoble j 
manner," &c. — " To these things they made answer shortly : 
' It was their trade of life : they were bred up by their 
ancestors to act in this way towards their enemies.' " 

All the Indians, in the vicinity of Boston, were eager 
that these captives should be put to death, but the court 
adopted the wiser policy of sending them home in safety, 
with presents and a letter to their sachem, cautioning him 
against allowing any of his people to make war against 
the peaceable Indians under the protection of the English. 

About the middle of the seventeenth century, the Iro- 
quois, having annihilated the powerful nation of the Eries, 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



283 



occupied no small portion of that vast extent of coun- 
try, lying between the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, 
and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. . They even extended 

| their hostile incursions far south and west of these great 
boundaries. The present state of New York contained 
their principal establishments, and the picturesque river 
and lakes upon which they dwelt, still perpetuate the 
names of the confederate tribes. These people held inter- 

! course with the whites, of a very different nature from that 
which characterized the reduction and humiliation of the 
unfortunate natives of New England. Placed as they 
were between powerful colonies of contending European 

! nations; their favor courted upon terms of equality by 
emissaries from either party; the authority of their chiefs 
acknowledged, and the solemnity of their councils respected 
by the whites ; and conscious of proud superiority over 
all surrounding native tribes, it might well be expected 
that they would entertain the highest sense of their na- 
tional importance. 

No American tribe ever produced such an array of 
renowned warriors and orators as those immortalized in 
the history of the Six Nations. Such a regular system of 
federal government, where the chief-men of each member 
of the league met in one grand council, to sustain the 
interests of their tribe, or enforce the views of their con- 
stituents upon subjects of state policy, in matters of vital 
importance to the whole nation, elicited all the powers of 
rude native eloquence. Never in the history of the world 
has the stirring effect of accomplished oratory been more 
strikingly displayed than in the councils of these untaught 
sages. The speeches of Logan, Eed-Jacket, and others, 
fortunately preserved, have been long considered master- 
pieces of forcible declamation. 

The address of Garangula, or Grand Gueule, to the 
Canadian governor, M. de la Barre, has been often tran- 



284 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

scribed, but is so strikingly characteristic of Indian style, 
that we must find place for at least a portion of it. About 
the year 1684, the French, being at peace with the Iro- 
quois, took the opportunity to strengthen and enlarge their 
dominions by fortifying and adding to their posts upon the 
western waters. In carrying out this purpose, they sent 
large supplies of ammunition to their Indian allies ; tribes 
hostile to the confederacy. The Iroquois took prompt 
measures to check this transfer of means for their destruc- 
tion, and the French governor, angry at their interference, 
determined to humble them by a decisive campaign. He 
collected a strong force at Cadaraqui fort; but, a sickness 
breaking out among his troops, he was obliged to give 
over, or delay the prosecution of his purpose. He there- 
fore procured a meeting with the old Onondaga sachem, 
and other Indian deputies at Kaihoage, on Lake Ontario, 
for a conference. He commenced by recapitulating the 
injuries received from the Five Nations, by the plunder of 
French traders, and, after demanding ample satisfaction, 
threatened the destruction of the nation, if his claims were 
disregarded. He also falsely asserted that the governor of 
New York had received orders from the English court to 
assist the French army in the proposed invasion. 

The old chief, undisturbed by these menaces, having 
taken two or three turns about the apartment, stood before 
the governor, and, after a courteous and formal prologue, 
addressed him as follows: (we cite from Drake's Book of 
the North American Indians) "Yonondio; you must have 
believed, when you left Quebeck, that the sun had burnt up 
all the forests which render our country inaccessible to the 
French, or that the lakes had so far overflown the banks, 
that they had surrounded our castles, and that it was im- 
possible for us to get out of them. Yes, surely }~ou must 
have dreamt so, and the curiosity of seeing so great a 
wonder has brought you so far. Now you are undeceived, 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



285 



since that I, and the warriors here present, are come to 
assure you that the Senecas, Cayugas, dnondagas, Oneidas 
and Mohawks are yet alive. I thank you in their name, 
for bringing back into their country the calumet which 
your predecessor received from their hands. It was happy 
for you that you left under ground that murdering hatchet 
that has been so often dyed in the blood of the French. 

"Hear, Yonondio; I do not sleep; I have my eyes 
open; and the sun which enlightens me, discovers to me 
a great captain, at the head of a company of soldiers, who 
speaks as if he were dreaming. He says that he only came 
to the lake to smoke on the great calumet with the Onon- 
dagas. But Grangula says, that he sees the contrary; 
that it was to knock them on the head if sickness had not 
weakened the arms of the French. I see Yonondio raving 
in a camp of sick men, whose lives the Great Spirit has 
saved by inflicting this sickness upon them. 

"Hear, Yonondio; our women had taken their clubs, 
our children and old men had carried their bows and 
arrows into the heart of your camp, if our warriors had not 
disarmed them, and kept them back when your messenger, 
Akouessan, came to our castles. It is done, and I have 
said it. 

"Hear, Yonondio; we plundered none of the French, 
but those that carried arms, powder and ball to the 
Twightwies and Chictaghicks, because those arms might 
have cost us our lives. Herein we follow the example of 
the Jesuits, who break all the kegs of rum brought to our 
castles, lest the drunken Indians should knock them on 
the head. Our warriors have not beaver enough to pay 
for all those arms that they have taken, and our old men 
are not afraid of the war. This belt preserves my words." 

The orator continued in the same strain, asserting the 
independence and freedom of his nation, and giving sub- 
stantial reasons for knocking the Twightwies and Chic- 



286 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



taghicks on the head. He concluded by magnanimously 
offering a present of beaver to the governor, and by in- 
viting all the company present to an entertainment. At the 
end of each important section of a speech, it was usual for 
the speaker to proffer a belt of wampum, to be kept in per- 
petual memory of that portion of his oration, a circumstance 
explanatory of the concluding words of the above quotation. 



CHAPTER II. 

IROQUOIS TRADITIONS RELATIVE TO THEIR FORMER HISTORY A 

*BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT TRIBES BELONGING TO 
THE CONFEDERACY, AND THE MANNER OF THEIR 
UNION INCIDENTS OF EARLY WARFARE. 

Some fanciful tales of a supernatural origin from the 
heart of a mountain; of a migration to the eastern sea- 
board ; and of a subsequent return to the country of lakes j 
and rivers where they finally settled, comprise most that 
is noticeable in the native traditions of the Six Nations, 
prior to the grand confederation. Many of the ancient 
fortifications, the remains of which are still visible through 
the state of New York, were said to have been built for 
defence while the tribes were disjoined, and hostile to each 
other. 

The period when it was finally concluded to adjust all 
differences, and to enter into a league of mutual protection 
and defence, is altogether uncertain. The most distin- 
guished authors who have given the subject their attention, 
incline to the opinion that this took place within less than 
a century anterior to the English colonization in the east. 
Whatever may have been the precise time of the new 
organization, its results were, as we have seen, brilliant in 
the extreme. None of the ruder nations of Eastern 



THE IKOQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



287 



America have ever displayed such a combination of qual- 
ities that command respect as those of whom we are now 
treating. The nature of the league was decidedly demo- 
cratic; arbitrary power was lodged in the hands of no 
ruler, nor was any tribe allowed to exercise discretional 
authority over another. A singular unanimity was gen- 
erally observable in their councils ; the rights and opinions 
of minorities were respected; and, in no instance, were 
measures adopted which met the sanction of but a bare 
majority. 

We are told that for a long period before the revolution, 
the Iroquois chiefs and orators held up their own confed- 
eration as an example for the imitation of the English 
colonies. 

Each tribe had one principal sachem, who, with an 
undefined number of associates, took his post in the great 
councils of the nation. A grave and decent deliberation 
was seen in all their assemblies, forming a striking contrast 
to the trickery and chicane, or noisy misrule too often vis- 
ible in the legislative halls of enlightened modern nations. 

The Mohawks were esteemed the oldest of the tribes, 
and, as they were always the most noted in warlike trans- 
actions, one of their sachems usually occupied the position 
of commander-in-chief of the active forces of the united 
people. The settlement of this tribe was in eastern New 
York, upon the Mohawk river, and along the shores of the 
Hudson. From their villages, in these districts, their war- 
parties ravaged or subdued the feebler nations at the east 
and south, and their favor was only obtained by tribute and 
submission. 

Next in order, proceeding westward, dwelt the Oneidas, 
whose central locality, supplying the place of a state 
capital for the national council, was the celebrated Oneida 
stone. This mass of rock, crowning the summit of a hill 
which commands a beautiful view of the valley, is still 



288 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



pointed out in the town of Stockbridge, about fifteen or 
twenty miles south-east of the Oneida lake. This tribe is 
supposed to have been the last of the Five Nations to have 
adopted a separate name and government, in early ages, 
prior to the grand union. It produced bold and enter- 
prizing warriors, who extended their excursions far to the 
south, and by some of whom the sixth tribe — the Tusca- 
roras — was first conducted northward. 

The Onondagas occupied the country between the 
Oneida and Cayuga lakes. According to some theories, 
all the other tribes were derived from this, and certain it 
is that the civil ruler of the confederacy was always from 
Onondaga, and here was ever the grand central council- 
fire. Monarchs of the tribe were said to have reigned, in 
regular succession, from the first period of its nationality 
to the time of Europeon colonization. 

In near proximity to each other, upon the beautiful 
lakes which still bear their name, were settled the Cayu- 
gas and Senecas. The last-mentioned tribe has always 
been by far the most numerous of those united by the league. 

The Tuscaroras were, by their own account, a branch 
from the original stock of the Iroquois. Migrating first 
to the west,, and thence south-easterly, they had finally set- 
tled upon the Neuse and Tar rivers, in North Carolina, 
I Surrounded by hostile Indians, who proved unable to cope j 
| with the interlopers, these warlike people maintained their 
position until early in the eighteenth century. They then 
endeavored to exterminate the English colonists of their 
vicinity. On an appointed day, (September 22, 1711,) 
divided in small parties, they entered the villages of the 
whites, in a manner intended to ward off suspicion, and 
attempted a general massacre. Other coast Indians were 
involved in the conspiracy. 

One hundred and thirty whites are said to have perished 
on that day; but so far from being a successful blow 



r 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 289 

j 

| against the advance of the colonies, the plot only aroused 
j a spirit of retaliation, which resulted in the expulsion of 
i the tribe. With the assistance of forces from South Caro- 
j | lina and Virginia, the war was carried on vigorously ; and 
j | in March of 1713, the main fort of the Tuscaroras, upon 
1 j Tar river, to which they had retreated, was stormed by 
j j Colonel Moore, and eight hundred prisoners were taken. 

Being now reduced to submission, such of the tribe as 
; remained in Carolina yielded to ^.e requirements and 
j regulations of their conquerors. The major portion moved 
to New York, and formed the sixth nation of the Iroquois. 
| They were established in the immediate neighborhood of 
j ! the Oneidas. 

Many strange legends of early warfare between the Iro- 
quois and distant tribes at the south and west have been 
\ preserved. The particulars of some of these narratives 
| can be relied upon, while others are evidently exaggerated 
j and distorted in the tradition. At the south, the most 
famous of their opponents were the great nation of the 
j Delawares, the Cherokees, and the ancient tribe from whom 
; our principal chain of mountains derive a name. They 
; always claimed that the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, were 
a conquered people, and assumed the haughtiness of supe- 
| riors in all their conferences and dealings with them. No 
| hostilities took place between the two nations after Euro- 
pean settlements were established in the country. 

The Cherokee war gave rather an opportunity for 
displays of individual energy and daring, than for any de- 
| cisive exhibition of national power. The distance to be 
traversed was so great, that it was never undertaken by 
I any large body of warriors. Small parties, who could 
I make their way unperceived into the heart of the enemies' 
country, and retire as stealthily with their trophies of scalps, 
frequently sought such opportunity of proving their hardi- 
19 



290 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



hood. One of the stories told of these early exploits, is 
that of the Seneca warrior, Hiadeoni. He is said to have 
started alone on a war-path, and to have penetrated the 
country of the Cherokees, supported by such provisions 
as he could procure on the route, and a little parched corn 
which he carried with him when he set out. 

Prowling about the enemies' villages, he managed to 
dispatch two men and to secure their scalps. He then 
started on his return, and, late in the evening, killed and 
scalped a young man whom he saw coming out of a retired 
wigwam. The hut appeared to be empty, and he could 
not resist the temptation to enter it in search of plunder; 
especially that he might satisfy his craving for tobacco. 

While there, the young man's mother entered the wig- 
wam, and, mistaking Hiadeoni, who had thrown himself 
upon the bed, for her son, told him that she was going away 
for the night. The weary Seneca, seduced by the ease of 
a long-unaccustomed couch, fell into a sound slumber, from 
which he was only awakened by the old woman's return in 
the morning. Taking advantage of a moment when she had 
left the hut, to slip out, he made the best of his way north- 
ward, but the alarm had been given, and it was only by 
his great swiftness that he escaped. He carried the three 
scalps in triumph to his own people. 

Many similar legends are preserved among the Indians, 
of the bravery and determined spirit of revenge in which 
their forefathers gloried. One of those which has been 
given with the greatest particularity, is the noted expedi- 
tion of the Adirondack chief Piskaret and his four asso- 
ciates. In the long and bloody war between that tribe and 
the Five Nations, the latter had attained the ascendancy 
by a series of victories, and the five warriors alluded to 
undertook to wipe away the disgrace of defeat. Proceed- 
ing up the Sorel, in a single canoe, they fell in with five 
boat-loads of the enemy, and immediately commenced their 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 291 

death-song, as if escape were impossible and resistance 
useless. As the Iroquois approached, a sudden discharge 
from the Adirondack muskets, which were loaded with 
small chain-shot, destroyed the frail birch-bark canoes of 
their opponents. At such a disadvantage, the Iroquois 
were easily knocked on the head as they floundered in the 
water : as many as could be safely secured were taken alive, 
and tortured to death at their captors' leisure. None of 
Piskaret's companions would accompany him upon a sec- 
ond war-path which he proposed. They had acquired 
glory enough, and were content to remain in the enjoy- 
ment of a well-earned reputation, without undergoing 
further hardships and danger. The bold chief therefore 
started alone for the heart of the enemies' country. Using 
every precaution for concealment and deception known to 
savages; reversing his snow-shoes to mislead a pursuing 
party as to the direction he had taken; and carefully 
choosing a route where it would be difficult to track him, 
he reached one of the Iroquois towns. Lying closely con- 
cealed during the day, he stole into the wigwams of his 
enemies on two successive nights, and murdered and 
scalped the sleeping occupants. The third night a guard 
was stationed at every lodge, but Piskaret, stealthily wait- 
ing an opportunity, knocked one of the watchmen on the 
head, and fled, hotly pursued by a party from the village. 
His speed was superior to that of any Indian of his time, 
and, through the whole day, he kept just sufficiently in 
advance of his pursuers to excite them to their utmost ex- 
ertions. At night, they lay down to rest, and, wearied with 
the day's toil, the whole party fell asleep. Piskaret, per- 
ceiving this, silently killed and scalped every man of them, 
and carried home his trophies in safety. 

The Iroquois were generally at enmity with the French, 
and, within a few years after the futile attempt on the part 
of De la Barre, which we have mentioned in a preceding 



292 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



chapter, scenes of frightful cruelty and bloodshed were 
enacted on both sides. The confederacy was then, as long 
afterwards, in the English interest, and the conquered 
Hurons, or Wyandots, whom they had driven far west- 
ward, naturally espoused the cause of the French. Having, 
however, no cause for ill-will against the English, except 
as being allies of their foes, the Hurons were not unwilling 
to hold intercourse with them for purposes of profitable 
traffic. 

A strange piece of duplicity, conducted with true In- 
dian cunning by Adario, or the Eat, sachem of the 
Dinondadies, a Wyandot tribe, was the immediate cause 
of hostilities. He left his head-quarters, at Michilimack- 
inac, with one hundred warriors, whether with intent to 
make an incursion upon the Iroquois, or merely upon a 
sort of scout, to keep himself informed of the movements 
of the contending parties, does not appear. He stopped at j 
the French fort of Cadaraqui, and learned from the officer 
in command that a peace was about to be concluded between 
the French and Iroquois ; deputies for which purpose were 
even then on their way from the Six Nations to Montreal. 

Nothing could be more distasteful to the Eat than a 
treaty of this character, and he promptly determined to 
1 1 create a breach between the negotiating parties. He 
I j therefore lay in wait for the ambassadors ; fell upon them ; | 
i j and took all who were not slain in the conflict prisoners. j 
j j He pretended, in discourse with these captives, that he ■ 
| was acting under the direction of the French authorities, 
| j and when the astonished deputies made answer that they 
j | were bound upon peaceful embassy, in accordance with the 
| invitation of the French, he assumed all the appearance of 
j astonishment and indignation at being made an instrument 
! i for so treacherous an act. He immediately set his prison- 
ers at liberty, gave them arms, and advised them to rouse 
up their people to avenge such foul injustice. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



293 



By this, and other equally artful management, Adario 
stirred up the most uncontrollable rage in the minds of 
the Iroquois against the French, and a long and disastrous 
war followed. It was in vain that the Canadian governor 
attempted to explain the true state of affairs. The Iroquois 
ever held the French in suspicion, and would not be dis- 
abused. They invaded Canada with an irresistible force. 
We have no record of any period in the history of Amer- 
ica in which the arms of the natives were so successful. 
Twelve hundred warriors passed over to the island upon 
which Montreal is situated, and laid waste the country. 
Nearly a thousand of the French are said to have been 
slain or reserved for death by fire and torture. Neither 
age nor sex proved any protection, and the scenes described 
surpass in horror any thing before or since experienced by 
the whites at the hands of the Indians. 

The war continued for years, and the name of Black 
Kattle, the most noted war-chief of the leagued nations, 
became a word of terror. He fought successfully against 
superior numbers of the French ; and it is astonishing to 
read of the trifling loss which his bands sustained in 
many of their most desperate engagements. 

The great orator of the nation, at this period, was named 
Decanisora ; he appeared more preeminently than any other 
in all the public negotiations of the tribe, and was one of 
the deputies who were duped by the subtle contrivance of 
Adario. 

We have already mentioned that the Six Nations gen- 
erally favored the English, and that between them and the 
French, feelings of the bitterest animosity prevailed. The 
recollection of the scenes which attended the sack of Mon- 
treal must constantly have strengthened this hatred on the 
part of the Canadians, while, on the other hand, the In- 
dians could point to acts of equal atrocity and cold-blooded 
cruelty exercised towards some of their own number 



294 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



when taken captive. Meanwhile, the English agents were 
assiduous in cultivating the friendship of the powerful 
confederacy whose sagacity and good faith in council, and 
whose strength in battle, had been so thoroughly tested. 
In the year 1710, three Iroquois and two Mohegan sachems 
were invited to visit the English court, and they sailed 
for England accordingly. The greatest interest was felt 
by high and low in their appearance and demeanor. They 
were royally accoutered, and presented to Queen Anne 
with courtly ceremony. The authenticity of the set 
speeches recorded as having been delivered by them on 
this occasion, has been shrewdly called in question. The 
Spectator, of April 27th, 1711, in a letter written to show 
how the absurdities of English society might strike a for- 
eigner, gives a sort of diary as having been written bv 
one of these sachems. The article opens thus: "When 
the four Indian Kings were in this country, about a twelve- 
month ago, I often mixed with the rabble, and followed 
them a whole day together, being wonderfully struck with 
the sight of every thing that is new or uncommon." The 
writer particularizes " our good brother E. Tow 0. Koam, 
king of the Eivers," and speaks of "the kings of Granajah 
(Canajoharie) and of the Six Nations." This latter appel- 
lation, as observed by Mr. Drake, seems to call in question 
the correctness of the date usually assigned to the event 
of the annexation of the Tuscaroras. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



295 



CHAPTER III. 

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS AND EVENTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CEN- 
TURY BRANT CRESAP'S WAR, AND HISTORY OF LOGAN. 

During the long and bloody wars between the English 
and French, the Six Nations were continually involved in 
hostilities, occupying, as they did, a position between the 
contending parties. To describe all the part they took in 
these transactions, would be to give a history of the war. 
This is far from our purpose to undertake, and, in bring- 
ing down events to the period of the American revolution, 
we shall bestow but a passing notice upon some of the 
more prominent incidents in which the Iroquois, as a na- 
tion, or distinguished individuals of their tribe, bore a 
conspicuous part. 

Joseph Brant, — Thayendanagea, (as he usually signed 
himself,) was born in the year 1742. It has been a matter 
much disputed whether he was a half-breed, or of pure 
Indian descent, and also whether he was entitled to the dig- 
nity of a chief by birth, or rose to it by his own exertions. 
His biographer, Stone, pronounces him to have been the 
son of " Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, a full-blooded Mo- 

: hawk, of the Wolf tribe." His parents resided in the 
valley of the Mohawk, but were upon an expedition to 

I the Ohio river when Joseph was born. Young Brant was 
early taken under the patronage of Sir William Johnson, 
the English colonial agent for Indian affairs, under whose 
command he gained his first knowledge and experience of 
military affairs. Many have expressed the opinion that 
Brant was a son of Sir William; but we can account for 
their mutual interest in each other's welfare upon other 
grounds than those of natural affection. Sir William 
Johnson was idolized by the whole Mohawk tribe for the 
favor and respect which he had shown them, and for his 



296 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



princely hospitality. With the family of Brant he was 
more closely connected by a union with Molly, a sister of 
J oseph's, who lived with him as a mistress until his death. 

In the year 1755, Brant, then but thirteen years of age, 
took part with his tribe in the battle at Lake George, 
where the French, under Baron Dieskaru, were defeated 
by Sir William Johnson and his forces. Old king Hen- 
drick or Soi-en-ga-rah-ta, the noted sachem of the Mo- 
hawks, perished on this occasion. Hendrick was nearly 
seventy years of age, but years had not diminished his 
energy or courage. Historians vie with each other in the 
praises which they bestow upon the eloquence, bravery, 
and integrity of this old chief. He was intimate with his 
distinguished English commander, and it was between 
them that the amusing contention of dreams occurred, that 
has been so often narrated. With the Iroquois a dream 
was held to import verity, insomuch that it must be fulfil- 
led if practicable. Sir William (then general) Johnson had 
displayed some splendid and costly uniforms before the 
eyes of his admiring guests, at one of his munificent en- 
tertainments. Old Hendrick came to him one morning, 
shortly afterwards, and gravely affirmed that he had dreamed 
of receiving one of these gorgeous suits as a present. The 
general instantly presented it to him, but took the oppor- 
tunity to retaliate by dreaming of the cession of three 
thousand acres of valuable land. The sachem was not 
backward in carrying out his own principles, but at the 
same time avowed his intention of dreaming no more with 
one whose dreams were so hard. 

To return to young Brant : after accompanying his patron I 
in further campaigns of the bloody French war, he was j 
placed by him, together with several other young Indians, j 
at an institution in Lebanon, Connecticut, called the Moor j 
School, after its founder, to receive an English education, j 
This was about the year 1760. After attaining some pro- 




JOSEPH B Jl A JV T— T It A V T. X I) A JV T. G T. A . 



THE IEOQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 297 

ficiency in the first rudiments of literature, which, he after- 
wards turned to good account, Brant left the seminary, and 
again engaged in a life of active warfare. He was em- 
ployed in the war with Pontiac and the Ottawas, but the 
particulars of his services are not handed down to us. In 
1765, we find him married and settled in his own house 
at the Mohawk valley. Here he spent a quiet and peace- j 
ful life for some years, acting as interpreter in negotiations j 
between his people and the whites, and lending his aid to 
the efforts of the missionaries who were engaged in the 
work of teaching and converting the Indians. Those who 
visited his house, spoke in high terms of his kindness and 
hospitality. 

On the death of Sir William Johnson, in June, 1774, his 
son-in-law, Colonel Gray Johnson, held his office as Indian 
agent ; while his son and heir, Sir John Johnson, succeeded 
to the paternal estates. Colonel Guy continued the favor 
shown by his father to Brant, and appointed him his 
secretary. 

In the spring of this same year a war commenced, the 
causes of which have been variously represented, but 
whose consequences were truly disastrous. We allude to 
the scenes in western Virginia and Pennsylvania, so inti- 
mately connected with the names of Logan and Cresap. 
Colonel Michael Cresap has been, for many years, held up 
to public odium by nearly every historian, as the cruel and 
wanton murderer, whose unscrupulous conduct was the 
sole or principal cause of the bloody Indian war of which 
we are now to speak, and which is still spoken of as 
Cresap's war. On the other hand, some recent investiga- 
tions, made public by Mr. Brantz Maj^er, of Baltimore, in 
an address delivered before the Maryland Historical So- 
ciety, seems to remove no little portion of this responsi- 
bility from the shoulders of Cresap, or at least prove that 
the acts with which his name has been so long associated 



L 



298 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

were not directly attributable to him. He is shown to 
have been a prudent and cautions man, who exerted his 
influence to restrain the reckless adventurers under his 
command from wanton outrages upon the Indians. We 
shall not attempt to decide upon the question as to how 
far he was blameable, but give, in few words, the circum- 
stances which brought about hostilities. 

Logan was the son of Shikellimus, a Cayuga chief, 
who had removed to the banks of the Susquehanna, and 
ruled over those of the Iroquois who had settled in that 
vicinity. Logan himself had attained authority farther to 
the westward, upon the Ohio, in the Shawanese country. 
He had ever been of a peaceful disposition, and friendly 
to the whites. 

A party of land-hunters, who had chosen Cresap as their 
leader, are said to have committed the first direct acts of 
hostility, in retaliation for a supposed theft of some of their 
horses. We are told that they fell upon and treacherously 
murdered several of a party of Indians whom they fell in 
with, on the bank of the Ohio, below the spot where 
Wheeling now stands, and that among the slain were some 
relatives of Logan. With the next rupture, Cresap had 
certainly no connection. It occurred at a white settlement, 
thirty or forty miles further up the river. Two men, 
named Greathouse and Tomlinson, were the principal 
leaders in the affair. They had ascertained that the In- 
dians, then encamped on the other side of the river, intended 
an attack upon the place, in retaliation for the murders 
committed by Cresap's men. Finding, on examination, 
that the Indians were too numerous to be safely assaulted 
in their camp, Greathouse opened a communication with 
them, and invited them to come and drink and feast at 
his house. A party of armed whites lay concealed in a 
separate apartment, and when the Indians became intoxi- 
cated, slaughtered the whole number, of both sexes, spar- 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



299 



ing only one child. A brother and sister of Logan were 
among the slain. Mr. Mayer's account (in which the scene 
is laid at the house of "Baker," instead of Greathouse,) is 
as follows: 

" The evening before the tragedy, a squaw came over to 
Baker's, and aroused the attention of the inmates by her 
tears and manifest distress. For a long time she refused 
to disclose the cause of her sorrow, but at kst, when left 
alone with Baker's wife, confessed that the Indians had 
resolved to kill the white woman and her family the next 
day ; but as she loved her, and did not wish to see her 
slain, she had crossed the river to divulge the plot, so as 
to enable her friend to escape." Next day four unarmed 
Indians, with three squaws and a child, came over to Ba- 
ker's house, where twenty- one men were concealed, in 
anticipation of attack, as above mentioned. The party 
became intoxicated, and Logan's brother was insulting and 
abusive : at the same time canoes filled with painted and 
armed warriors were seen starting from the opposite shore ; 
upon which the massacre commenced as above stated. 
I After this savage murder of women and unarmed men, 
the whites left the house, and, firing upon the canoes, pre- 
vented their landing. 

These occurrences, with the death of the old Delaware 
chief, Bald Eagle, who was causelessly murdered, scalped, 
and set adrift down the river in his canoe, and the murder 
of the Shawanees sachem, Silver Heels, brought down the 
vengeance of the aggrieved parties upon the devoted 
settlements. 

The ensuing summer witnessed terrible scenes of surprise 
and massacre, the chief mover in which was the injured 
Logan. Stirred as he was by revenge, the natural kind- 
ness of his heart was shown in his disposition towards 
captives, whom, in various instances, he favored and saved 
from Indian cruelties. 



800 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The hostile tribes were those of the Iroquois who dwelt 
in the western country, the Shawanees, the Delawares, the 
Iowas, and other nations of the west. Indecisive skir- 
mishes occupied the summer, and not until the 10th of 
October was any general engagement brought about. 
On that day a battle was fought at Point Pleasant, where 
the Great Kanawha empties into the Ohio, between the 
combined forces of the Indians, and the Virginia troops, 
under Colonel Andrew Lewis. Lord Dunmore, governor 
of Yirginia, was to cooperate by a movement upon the 
other bank of the river, but did not actually take any part 
in the contest. 

The Indians numbered probably over a thousand, and 
were led by Logan and the great warrior Cornstock. 
Kever had the natives fought more desperately, or made 
a stand against European troops with more determined 
firmness. They had prepared a sort of breast-work, be- 
hind which they maintained their position, in spite of the 
repeated charges of the whites, until night. They were 
at last driven from their works by a company detached to 
fall upon their rear, and, crossing the Ohio, the survivors 
retreated westward. 

At Chilicothe, on the Sciota, the chiefs held a grand 
consultation ; and their principal warrior, Cornstock, see- 
ing that the rest were determined upon no certain plan of 
proceeding, expressed his own intention of concluding a 
peace. He accordingly sought Lord Dunmore, who was 
approaching the camp on the Sciota, and brought about a 
series of conferences, whereby hostilities were for the 
time stayed. 

Logan would take no part in these negotiations ; he is 
reported to have said that "he was yet like a mad dog; 
his bristles were up, and were not yet quite fallen ; but the 
good talk then going forward might allay them." A mes- 
senger was sent by Lord Dunmore to strive to appease 



i 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



301 



him, and it was upon that occasion that the Indian chief 
delivered himself of those eloquent expressions that have 
attained such a world-wide celebrity. He walked into the 
woods with Gibson, who had been sent to visit him, and, 
seating himself upon a log, " burst into tears," and gave 
utterance to his feelings in these words, as they were writ- 
ten down and reported at the time : 

"I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered 
Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever 
he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not? During 
the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan re- 
mained idle in his camp, an advocate for peace. Such was 
my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as I 
passed, and said: 'Logan is the friend of the white man!' 
I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the 
injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in 
cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations 
of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. 
There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any 
living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have 
sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my 
vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of 
peace; but do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy 
of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his 
heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? 
Not one!" 

The subsequent history of this renowned warrior is soon 
told. He led a wandering, intemperate life for several 
years, and took part in the wars at the west in 1779 and 
1780. He is described as having become melancholy and 
wretched in the extreme, and as being deprived of the full 
use of his reason by the pernicious habit of indulging in 
strong drink. He came to his death in the latter year 
under singular circumstances. He had, as he supposed, 
killed his wife during a fit of intoxication, and fled from 



302 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Detroit, where he had been present at an Indian council, 
to evade the punishment awarded by the native code. 
On his way towards Sandusky, he fell in with a large 
party of Indians, among whom was a relative of his, 
named Tod-kah-dohs, and whom he took to be the one 
appointed to avenge the murder. According to Mr. May- 
er's account, " rashly bursting forth into frantic passion, 
he exclaimed, That the whole party ehould fall beneath 
his weapons. Tod-kah-dohs, seeing their danger, and ob- 
serving that Logan was well armed, told his companions 
that their only safety was in getting the advantage of the 
desperate man by prompt action. Whilst leaping from 
his horse, to execute his dreadful threat, Tod-kah-dohs 
levelled a shot-gun within a few feet of the savage, and 
killed him on the spot." 

It may well be supposed the whole of the Iroquois 
tribe should have been roused to indignation by the oc- 
currence which we have described, and in which some of 
their own brethren had borne so conspicuous a part, 
"We are told that this was the case with all of them except 
the Oneidas, and that disaffection towards the colonies had 
become general among the western tribes. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HISTORY OF BRANT CONTINUED : CONNECTION OF THE SIX NATIONS 
WITH THE WAR OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

In the year 1775, when difficulties between the American 
colonies and the old country were rife, and the prospect 
of a long and desperate contention kept the minds of all 
in fear and anxiety, it was felt to be necessary on the part 
of the Americans, and politic on the part of the English, 
to use every endeavor to secure the services of the Six 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 303 

Nations. The remembrance of their noble patron, Sir 
William Johnson, caused the Mohawks and many others 
of the confederacy to adhere firmly to his son-in-law and 
successor, Guy Johnson, and when he fled westward to 
the lakes, to avoid the danger of capture by the Amer- 
icans, Brant and the principal warriors of the tribe 
accompanied him. A great meeting was held by them, to 
discuss the policy which they should pursue ; after which, 
Johnson and his chiefs proceeded to Montreal, followed 
by a strong body of Indian warriors. Sir Guy Carleton 
encouraged the Iroquois sachems to accept commissions 
under the king, and, what with his promises, their attach- 
ment to the Johnson family, and the remembrance of old 
pledges, they were thoroughly confirmed in their purpose 
of taking a decided stand in favor of the royal cause. 

The efforts of the Americans proved less successful. By 
the aid of a Mr. Kirkland, missionary to the Oneidas, the 
favor of that tribe was greatly conciliated. His efforts 
were assisted by the influence of the Indians of Stock- 
bridge, a town in western Massachusetts. These were the 
remains of various celebrated tribes which had long 
ceased to maintain a separate national existence. The 
principal portion of them were descendants of the ancient 
Moheakannuk, Mohicans, or Eiver Indians, who dwelt on 
the banks of the Hudson in the early times of American 
colonization ; but with them were associated many of the 
Narragansetts and Pequots, from Ehode Island and Con- 
necticut. They were entirely under the influence of the 
Americans, and favorable to their cause. 

A very touching incident of private history, connected 
with this collection of dismembered tribes after their re- 
moval westward, has been immortalized in the beautiful 
poetical legend by Bryant, entitled " Monument Mountain." 
The mountain stands in Great Barrington, (western Mas- 
sachusetts,) overlooking the rich and picturesque valley of 



304 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



the Housatonic. The following note is appended to the 
poem. " Until within a few years past, small parties of 
that tribe used to arrive, from their settlement, in the 
western part of the state of New York, on visits to Stock- 
bridge, the place of their nativity and former residence. 
A young woman, belonging to one of these parties, related 
to a friend of the author the story on which the poem of 
Monument Mountain is founded. An Indian girl had 
formed an attachment for her cousin, which, according to 
the customs of the tribe, was unlawful. She was, in con- 
sequence, seized with a deep melancholy, and resolved to 
destroy herself. In company with a female friend, she 
repaired to the mountain, decked out for the occasion in 
all her ornaments, and after passing the day on the sum- 
mit, in singing, with her companion, the traditional songs 
of her nation, she threw herself headlong from the rock, 
and was killed." 

* # * "Here the friends sat them down, 
And sang all day old songs of love and death, 
And decked the poor wan victim's hair with flowers, 
And prayed that safe and swift might be her way 
To the calm world of sunshine, where no grief 
Makes the heart heavy, and the eyelids red." 

A conical pile of stones marks the spot where she was 
| buried, on the southern slope of the mountain. 

The regular successor to old king Hendric, among the 
Mohawks, was Little Abraham, a chief well disposed 
towards the Americans, and who remained in the Mohawk 
valley when Johnson and his followers fled to* Canada, 
He appears to have possessed but little authority during 
the subsequent difficulties, and Brant, by a sort of univer- 
sal consent among those in the English interest, obtained 
the position of principal chief. He was commissioned as 
a captain in the British army, and, in the fall of 1775, j 




THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



305 



sailed to England, to hold personal conference with, the 
officers of government. 

He was an object of much curiosity at London, and at- 
! tracted the attention of persons of high rank and great 
| celebrity. His court dress was a brilliant equipment mod- 
| eled upon the fashions of his own race ; but ordinarily he 
appeared in the usual citizen's dress of the time. 

Confirmed in his loyalty to the English crown, Brant 
; j returned to America in the ensuing spring. He was 
: ; secretly landed at some spot near New York, and made 
j the best of his way to Canada. The journey was fraught 
| with danger to such a traveler, through a disturbed and 
j excited community, but the native sagacity and watch- 
j fulness of the Indian enabled our chief to avoid them. 

Brant was gladly received, and the services of his war- 
I like Mohawks were promptly called into requisition. He 
led his people at the affair of "the Cedars," which termi- 
nated so disastrously for the American interests. We can- 
■ ' not minutely follow his movements, nor those of the several 
Iroquois tribes, for a considerable period subsequent to 
i . these events. Those were stirring times, and in the mo- 
mentous detail of the birth of American independence, it 
i is not always easy to follow out any private history. 

Colonel Stone, in his life of Brant, gives us the follow- 
j | ing speech, as coming, at the beginning of the ensuing 
year, from the chiefs of the Oneidas to Colonel Elmore, 
commandant at fort Schuyler. He does not attempt to 
j | explain the full import of it : 

"Fort Schuyler, Jan. 19th, 1777. 
" Speech of the Oneida Chiefs to Colonel Elmore. 

"Brother: We are sent here by the Oneida chiefs, in 
conjunction with the Onondagas. They arrived at our 
I village yesterday. They gave us the melancholy news 
that the grand council-fire at Onondaga was extinguished. 
We have lost, out of their town, by death, ninety, among 
20 



806 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



whom are three principal sachems. We 3 the remaining 
part of the Onondagas, do now inform our brethren that 
there is no longer a council-fire at the capital of the Six 
Nations. However, we are deter m i n ed to use our feeble 
endeavours to support peace through the confederate na- 
tions. But let this be kept in min d, that the council-nre 
is extinguished. It is of importance to our well-being, 
that this be immediately communicated to General Schuy- 
ler, and also to our brothers the Mohawks. In order to 
effect this, we deposit this belt with Tekeyanedonhotte, 
Colonel Elmore, commander at Fort Schuyler, who is sent 
here by Greneral Schuyler to transact all matters relative 
to peace. TTe therefore request him to forward this intel- 
ligence, in the first place to Greneral Herkimer, desiring 
him to communicate it to the Mohawk Castle near to him, 
and then to Major Fonda, requesting h im to im m ediately 
com m unicate it to the lower castle of the Mohawks. Let 
the belt then be forwarded to Greneral Schuyler, that he 
may know that our council-lire is extinguished, and can 
no longer burn." 

Towards the close of the winter of 1777, it was found 
that the Indians were collecting in force at Oghkwaga, on 
the Susquehanna, and the fears of the colonial population 
of the vicinity were justly excited, although no open de- 
monstrations of hostility had been made by them. In the 
course of the spring, Brant and his followers proceeded 
across the country, from Canada to Oghkwaga. He had 
disagreed with his superior, Gray Johnson. The whites 
were in great doubt as to what course this renowned chief 
would take in the struggle then going forward, but he 
seemed only to occupy himself in collecting and disciplin- 
ing his warriors. It was afterwards ascertained that he 
was the leader of a party of Indians who threatened the 
little fortification at Cherry- Yalley, in the month of May. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



307 



The only blood shed upon the occasion was that of Lieu- 
tenant Wormwood, a young officer whom the Indians 
waylaid and shot, as he was leaving the place, accompa- 
nied by a single companion, bearing dispatches. Brant is 
said to have scalped him with his own hand. The Indian 
chief was deceived as to the strength of the place, by the 
duplicity of the dispatches, and by the circumstance" that 
a number of boys were going through military evolutions 
at the settlement, whom he mistook, in the distance, for 
soldiers. He therefore retired without making any further 
j demonstration. 

In June, he visited Unadilla, on the small river of the 
same name, which empties into the Susquehanna, forming 
the boundary between Otsego and Chenango counties" 
I His purpose was to procure provisions, which were per- 
| force furnished him; as he avowed his intention to take 
them by violence, if necessary. At a conference held, at 
j this time, with some of the authorities, Brant expressed 
himself decidedly in favor of the royal cause, alluding to 
j the old covenants and treaties which his nation had in 
j • former times entered into with the king, and complaining 
I of ill-treatment received at the hands of the colonists. 

Shortly after, during this same month, General Herki- 
mer, of the American militia, took a strong force with 
i j him, and started for Brant's head-quarters, whether with 
intention of attacking him, or merely to treat upon terms 
of equality, hardly appears. 

Brant was very cautious of trusting himself in the ene- 
mies' hands. He did not show himself for a week after 
Herkimer's arrival, and when he finally appeared, and 
consented to a conference, he was accompanied and de- 
fended by five hundred Indian warriors. Every precau- 
tion was taken against treachery; the meeting was held at 
a temporary building erected mid-way between the two 
encampments, and the respective parties were to assemble 



I 308 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

at the spot unarmed. The Indian cMef took with him a 
guard of about forty warriors, and was accompanied by 
one Captain Bull, of the English party, and by his nephew, 
William Johnson, a son of Molly Brant by Sir William. 

General Herkimer had long been on terms of friendship 
with Brant, before the troubles arose between England and 
the American colonies, and he vainly hoped to be able to 
influence and persuade him into complaisance towards the 
new government. Thayendanegea was suspicious, and 
looked with an evil eye upon the hostile array of troops, 
shrewdly questioning the necessity for such preparations 
for a mere meeting of conference. He fully confirmed the 
supposition that he was determined to support the king, 
and evinced a proud dependence upon the power and 
courage of his own tribe. 

The parley terminated most unsatisfactorily, and another 
appointment was made. We are sorry to record an in- 
I stance of such unpardonable treachery as Herkimer is said 
to have planned at this juncture. One of his men, Joseph 
Waggoner, affirmed that the general privately exhorted 
him to arrange matters so that Brant and his three princi- 
j pal associates might be assassinated when they should 
i present themselves at the place of meeting. The Indian 
! chief, when he came to the council, kept a large body of 
; his warriors within call, so that the design, even if it had 
been seriously entertained by Waggoner, could not be 
safely carried out. 

Brant counselled the general to go quietly home, as he 
could not but perceive how much he was out-numbered if 
! his intent was hostile. He disavowed any present inimi- 
cal design. Herkimer accordingly took his departure, 
and Brant, not long after, marched his warriors to the 
British place of rendezvous, at Oswego. Here a great 
council was held with the Indian tribes by English emissa- 
ries, who enlarged upon the ingratitude and rebellious i 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



309 



spirit of the provinces, and compared the power and wealth 
of their own monarch with the poverty of the Americans. 

Abundance of finery and warlike implements were 
spread before the greedy eyes of the warriors, and they 
were told that "the king was rich and powerful, both in 
money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as the water 
in Lake Ontario, and his men as numerous as the sands 
upon its shore ; and the Indians were assured that, if they 
would assist in the war, and persevere in their friendship 
for the king until its close, they should never want for 
goods or money." 

The bargain was struck accordingly, and each warrior 
who pledged himself to the royal cause received, as earn- 
est of future favors, a suit of clothes, a brass kettle, a 
tomahawk, a scalping-knife, and a supply of ammunition, 
besides a small present in money. The sagacity and 
enterprise of the chief, whose power was now almost 
universally submitted to by those of the Six Nations that 
favored the cause of the king, rendered the alliance a 
formidable one. 

The gloomy prospects of the colonies, disheartened as 
they were by reverses and pecuniary distress, grew tenfold 
darker at the apprehension of such a bloody and cruel 
border warfare as they might now anticipate. Exaggerated 
tales were every where circulated of the extent of Indian 
depredations and cruelties. There was, indeed, sufficient 
foundation in truth for the greatest apprehension and dis- 
tress. It is due to many of the British commanding 
officers to say that they bitterly regretted the association 
of their party with a horde of murderous savages, over 
whose acts they could exercise no control, when out of 
their immediate influence. Burgoyne refused to pay the 
expected bounty for scalps, to the intense disgust of his 
Indian forces; and, to the remonstrance on the part of 
the American general, against the permission of the bloody 



310 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



scenes which were continually enacting, he returned an 
eloquent disclaimer of participation in or encouragement 
of such acts. 

A large population of those who resided in the districts 
more immediately exposed, were driven from their dwell- 
ings by the fear of Indian cruelties. During Burgoyne's 
advance, an incident occurred which excited the strongest 
emotions of horror and indignation throughout the country. 
We allude to the well-known tale of the murder of Miss 
Jane McCrea. Few incidents have attracted more notice 
in the whole course of Indian warfare than this, and few 
have been reported in so variant and distorted a style. 
Miss McCrea was the daughter of a gentleman of New 
Jersey, and was residing, at the period of our present 
narrative, with her brother John, near Fort Edward, upon 
the Hudson, within a few miles of Saratoga. Her family 
was of the royal party, and she was herself engaged to 
marry a young officer by the name of Jones, then on duty 
in Burgoyne's army. 

The promised husband commissioned a few Indians to 
go to the young lady's dwelling, . and escort her thence to 
the British camp. Against the urgent entreaties of her 
friends, she put herself under the protection of these un- 
certain messengers, and started for the encampment. Her 
lover, anxious that his errand should be faithfully per- 
formed, dispatched a second party to join the convoy. The 
two companies met a short distance from Fort Edward, 
and were proceeding together when they were attacked 
by a party of Americans. " At the close of the skirmish," 
says Stone, "the body of Miss McCrea was found among 
the slain — tomahawked, scalped, and tied to a pine-tree, 
yet standing by the side of the spring, as a monument of 
the bloody transaction. The name of the young lady is 
inscribed on the tree, the trunk of which is thickly scarred 
with the bullets it received in the skirmish. It also bears 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



811 



the date 1777." He cites farther, from Silliman: " Tradi- 
tion reports that the Indians divided the scalp, and that 
each party carried half of it to the agonized lover." 

The account usually received of the manner in which 
her death was brought about is, that the chiefs of the two 
Indian companies, quarrelling as to which should receive 
the reward (a barrel of rum) promised by Jones, one of 
them, to end the dispute, buried his tomahawk in the head 
of their charge. 

During this month, (July,) General Barry St. Leger 
marched from Oswego, with nearly two thousand whites 
and Indians — the latter led by Thayendanegea — to the 
investiture of Fort Stanwix. This stronghold of the pro- 
vincial party occupied the spot where Eome now stands, 
in Oneida county, near the head- waters of the Mohawk. 
The post was afterwards called Fort Schuyler. The forces 
of St. Leger beset the fort on the 3d of August. 

The most interesting event connected with the part 
taken by the Indians in this siege, is the bloody battle of 
Oriskany. The brave old soldier, General Herkimer, with 
from eight hundred to a thousand militia and volunteers, 
hastened to relieve the garrison as soon as the news of St. 
Leger's design was brought. Unfortunately, the English 
commander obtained information of the approach of rein- 
forcements in sufficient season to prepare an ambuscade at 
a spot the most disadvantageous possible for the advancing 
troops. Where a marshy ravine, over which the path of 
the American army was carried by a causeway, partially 
inclosed a dry and level tract, Brant and his warriors, with 
a body of English troops, lay concealed. Before Herkimer 
and his men were aware of danger, the main portion of 
their number was completely surrounded, and cut off from 
the baggage and rear-guard. 

Broken and disordered by the murderous and unex- 
pected fire of the enemy, the Americans met with terrible 

11 



312 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



loss. Ketreat was out of the question, and gradually, en- 
couraged by the exhortations of their brave commander, 
who, although severely wounded, sat supported by a tree, 
coolly issuing his orders, they formed defensive circles. 
Such scenes of desperate hand to hand fighting as ensued 
have seldom been recorded. The destruction on both 
sides was great, more than two hundred of the Americans 
being killed on the spot. Both parties laid claim to a vic- 
tory; but it appears sufficiently certain that the Indians 
were dispersed, while the provincial militia held their 
ground. The purpose of the advance was, indeed, defeated, 
except so far as it gave opportunity for a successful sally 
from the fort, in which the British were driven from their 
encampment, and a great quantity of valuable booty was 
obtained. 

One who passed the spot where the battle of Oriskany 
was fought, a few days afterwards, writes: "I beheld the 
most shocking sight I had ever witnessed. The Indians j 
and white men were mingled with one another, just as I 
they had been left when death had first completed his 
work. Many bodies had also been torn to pieces by wild 
beasts." The veteran commander of the provincials died 
in consequence of the wound he had received. The loss 
experienced by the Mohawks and others of the Six 
Nations who took part in the engagement, was long re- 
membered and lamented by their tribes. 

Notwithstanding the reverses that followed ; the discom- 
fiture of the English ; the growing power and confidence 
of the Americans; and the long and eloquent appeal of 
mingled warning and conciliation communicated to them j 
by Congress, all of the Six Nations except the Oneidas 
and the Tuscaroras remained, at the close of the year, fast 
friends of the king. The poverty of the colonies prohib- 
ited that display of rewards which the loyalists could 
proffer, and constant intimacy enabled the politic officers 



THE IBOQUOIS, OE SIX NATIONS. 



313 



of the crown to sway the ignorant minds of the Indians, 
and to teach them to look upon their white countrymen as 
an unprincipled people, engaged in a hopeless as well as 
causeless rebellion. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONTINUATION OF REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS. 

The year 1778 opened unfavorably for American in- 
fluence over the border savages. Johnson and Butler, 
aided by Joseph Brant, in behalf of the crown, had been 
unwearied in their efforts to win over the Indians of the 
west to their master's cause. In vain was a council called 
by the provincial congress for the purpose of making one 
more effort to induce the Six Nations to adopt a neutral 
policy. An incomplete deputation, from all the tribes 
except the Senecas, did indeed assemble at Johnstown, in 
Tryon county, during the month of March, the result of 
which meeting only strengthened the conviction that noth- 
ing but enmity was to be looked for on the part of the 
great body of the nation. There was too great reason to 
fear that the Indians of the far west were successfully 
dealt with by emissaries on the part of the loyalists. 

Brant returned to his old quarters at Oghkwaga, and its 
vicinity, and lent himself heart and soul to the work of 
harassing and plundering the colonists. Although, as 
the chief of his nation, no small portion of the enormities 
committed by the Indian predatory bands, was attributed 
to his direct influence, it is due to Brant to say, that few 
among his companions-in-arms showed an equal regard for 
the laws of humanity. Many an instance is recorded of 
his interference, even in the heat of conflict, to stay the 
hand uplifted against the feeble and helpless; He was, it 



314: 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



is true, a fierce partisan warrior, and, in one of his letters, 
avowed his intent to "fight the cruel rebels," as well as he 
could ; but he seldom, if ever, evinced that savage cruelty 
towards a conquered foe which disgraced his Indian and 
white associates. 

While the war lasted, there was no rest or safety for the 
inhabitants of that extensive district bordering on the 
enemies' country — from Saratoga, south-westward to the 
Susquehanna. Brant commenced operations in person, by 
an attack on Springfield, a small place at the head of Ot- 
sego lake. He drove off or took prisoners all the men, and 
assembling the women and children for safety, burned all 
the town except the house where they were collected. He 
then retired, offering them no injury. 

In the latter part of June, a descent was planned upon 
the settlements in the valley of Wyoming, upon the Sus- 
quehanna, in the north-eastern part of Pennsylvania. 
Some three hundred British regulars and tory volunteers, 
accompanied by about five hundred of their Indian allies, 
marched from Niagara. They were led by Colonel John 
Butler. It has been a commonly received opinion that 
Brant was the chief under whom the Indian portion of the 
army was mustered, but it is now believed that he had as lit- 
tle share in this campaign as in many other scenes of blood 
long coupled with his name. There is no proof that he was 
present at any of the scenes that we are about to relate. 

No portion of the whole history of the revolution has 
been so distorted in the narration as that connected with 
the laying waste of the valley of Wyoming. No two ac- 
counts seem to agree, and historians have striven to out-do 
each other in the violence of their expressions of indigna- 
tion, at cruelties and horrors which existed only in their 
own imaginations, or which came to them embellished 
with all the exaggeration incident to reports arising amid 
scenes of excitement and bloodshed. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



315 



Wyoming had, for many years, been the scene of the 

j bitterest hostility between the settlers under the Connecti- 
cut grant and those from Pennsylvania. Although these 

j warlike operations were upon a small scale, they were con- 
ducted with great vindictiveness and treachery. Blood 

| was frequently shed ; and, as either party obtained the as- 
cendancy, small favor was shown to their opponents, who 
were generally driven from their homes in hopeless desti- 

I tution. We cannot go into a history of these early trans- 
actions, and only mention them as explanatory of the 
feelings of savage animosity which were exhibited between 
neighbors, and even members of the same families, who 
had espoused opposite interests in the revolutionary contest. 

As John Butler and his forces entered the north-west- 
ern portion of the valley, having descended the Susque- 
hanna upon rafts, the inhabitants of the several towns 
made the best preparations in their power to resist the in- 

j vasion. Colonel Zebulon Butler was in command of a 

I company of regular continental troops, and with about 
three hundred of the militia, collected in the valley, he 

■ marched on the 3d of July, to check and, if possible, 
disperse the invaders. It was intended to take the enemy 
by surprise at their encampment, (at Fort Wintermoot,) 
but the vigilance of the Indian sentinels betrayed the ad- 
vancing forces. They found the royalists drawn up,- and 
ready to give them battle. Their line was extended from 
the river, on their left, to a marsh, beyond which rose the 
mountain range which bounded the valley. The Indian 
warriors were stationed at the right by the borders of 
the swamp. 

The whole line was simultaneously attacked by the 
provincials, as they came up. Colonel Dennison, who 
commanded the left wing of the American army, perceiv- 
j ing that a strong body of the Indians had forced their way 
through the marsh, and were about to attack him in the 



316 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



rear, gave an order to fall back, that his troops might not 
be surrounded. This command was mistaken for an order 
to retreat, and the result was a complete rout and a disor- 
derly flight. The Indians, now completely in their ele- 
ment, fell upon the helpless stragglers with tomahawk and 
knife. About fifty of the Americans are said to have 
escaped by swimming the river, or by clambering the 
mountains, and concealing themselves in the forest: the 
rest all perished upon the field. 

Most of the inhabitants of the valley sought safety from 
the victorious army in flight. Those who remained be- 
took themselves to Fort Wyoming. On the next day, July 
4th, the British colonel approached the fort, and demanded 
an unconditional surrender. A capitulation was finally 
agreed upon, by the terms of which the occupiers of lands 
in the valley were to be protected in the peaceable enjoy- 
ment of their property. Colonel Zebulon Butler and the 
remnant of his regulars had made their escape, and it was 
agreed, by the officer remaining in command, that the 
fort should be demolished. The result, however, was the 
almost entire destruction of the settlement. The rapacity 
of the undisciplined Indian forces, tempted by the oppor- 
tunity for plunder, could not be restrained; and the long- 
cherished rancour of partisan enmity between fellow-coun- 
trymen had full opportunity to satiate itself. 

The rich and highly-cultivated farms were laid waste, 
and their unfortunate proprietors, flying from their burn- 
ing homes, were reduced to the greatest extremities. Many 
are said to have perished in the wilderness, whither they 
had fled for safety. From the tales of the wretched out- 
casts who were dispersed over the country, as published 
at the time, many incidents have been copied into modern 
histories, which we know to be false or grossly exagger- 
ated. War is every way an enormous evil, and when 
carried on by an ignorant and barbarous people, to whom 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



317 



the refinements of so-called civilized warfare are unknown, 
must necessarily involve scenes of terror and desolation ; 
but at the time of which we are now speaking, the great- 
est atrocities appear to have been committed by whites. 
We will give a single incident as illustrative of the spirit 
of the times. Several of the loyalists had pursued some 
fugitives of the provincial militia to an island in the river. 
One of these being ferreted out from his place of conceal- 
ment, recognized his own brother among the enemy, and, 
falling upon his knees, begged humbly for his life. The 
greeting and response of the unnatural brother are thus 
recorded: "So it is you, is it?"— " All this is mighty fine, 
but you are a damned rebel." — Saying which, he deliber- 
ately levelled his rifle, and shot him dead upon the spot." 

At the north, Brant and his Indians continued to be a 
source of terror and annoyance. Besides many minor 
depredations, they burned and plundered the rich and 
thriving settlement of the German Flatts, upon the upper 
waters of the Mohawk. The inhabitants had sufficient 
notice of the attack to be able to secure themselves in the 
neighboring forts, but they could do nothing to preserve 
their homes, or to save the fruits of a summer's toil from 
plunder or destruction. This injury was retaliated by the 
invasion of the noted establishments of the Indian chief at 
Oghkwaga and Unadilla. A party of friendly Oneidas 
lent themselves to this service, and succeeded in bringing 
off some booty and prisoners. A more important inroad 
was made by Colonel William Butler, with a Pennsylvania 
regiment. He entered the towns of Unadilla and Oghk- 
waga, and, finding them deserted by the Indians, burned 
and destroyed the buildings, together with large stores of 
provision intended for winter use. 

The Indians were greatly exasperated at this heavy loss, 
and it was not difficult for the English to excite them to 
prompt exertions for revenge. The Senecas were discov- 

y — 



818 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA 



ered to be in arms, and assuming a hostile attitude very 
shortly after these events; and one of their chiefs, "The 
Great Tree," who had been spending the summer with the 
Americans, and had associated during that time upon ! 
friendly terms with. General Washington, had now re- 
turned to his people with altered demeanor and purposes. 
Reports had been circulated among the Indians of this and 
other tribes that the Americans were planning an invasion j 
of their country. 

Early in November, (1778,) the younger Butler, Walter, I 
led a force of seven hundred men from Niagara to attack j 
the settlement at Cherry- Yalley. The majority of the 
party consisted of Indians under the command of Thayen- i' 
danegea. The place of their destination, a beautifuUnd 
prosperous village, not far from Otsego lake, was defended 
by a fortification garrisoned by troops under Colonel Ich- 
abocl Alden. The commander received intimation, from 
an Oneida messenger, of the dangerous position of the 
place, but, being incredulous, or supposing that there was 
abundance of time for preparation, he was in no condition 
for resistance when the blow fell. The inhabitants, instead 
of seeking the protection of the fort, were scattered among 
their several habitations. 

The Indian savages made the first onslaught, and, throw- 
ing aside all restraint, massacred men, women and children j 
indiscriminately. Many of the tories belonging to the I 
party are said to have shown a spirit of ferocity equal to 
that of the worst of barbarians. The officer in command, 
Walter N. Butler, repeatedly asserted, in after communi- 
cations, that he used his best endeavors to stay the destine- ' 
tion of the helpless children and females, and there is no 
doubt but that Brant's inclinations turned in the same 
direction. Specific instances are reported in which the 
Mohawk chief interfered, and successfully, to arrest the j 
murderous tomahawk. According to their account, the j 

! 

1 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 319 

Indians were exasperated at their losses at Og&kwaga 
and Unadilla, and, becoming heated with the excitement 
of the attack, were in complete disorder, and in no degree 
amenable to discipline. Wherever the blame lay, the 
result was terrible : about fifty soldiers and inhabitants 
fell by the tomahawk, among the latter of whom the larger 
.portion consisted of women and children. The whole 
village was burned to the ground, and the rich stores of 
provisions were destroyed. Thirty or forty prisoners were 
taken, but of these, the women and children, with a few 
exceptions, were shortly after set at liberty, as unable to 
endure the march. 

Mrs. Campbell, one of those who was retained as a 
hostage, because of the prominent part taken by her hus- 
band in the American cause, has given very interesting 
descriptions of Indian ceremonies and manner of life. 

The Onondagas, throughout these campaigns, while, as 
a tribe, they did not openly profess themselves mimical to 
the Americans, were individually concerned in no small 
number of the forays and scalping expeditions whereby 
the border country was harassed. In April, of 1779, it 
was determined to destroy their settlements, and Colonel 
Van Schaick, with a sufficient force, was despatched for 
the purpose. He was ordered utterly to lay waste the 
whole of their towns ; to destroy all their cattle and pro- 
perty ; and to take as many prisoners as possible. He 
did not succeed in surprising the Indians, as he had pur- 
posed : their scouts carried intelligence of his advance in 
season for most of them to escape to the woods ; but their 
improvements and dwellings were left undefended, at the 
mercy of the assailants. The colonel obeyed his orders to 
the letter, and left nothing but blackened ruins behind 
him in his progress through the Indian villages. The 
dwellings, the horses, cattle, and stored provisions of the 
unfortunate tribe were all destroyed, and the Americans 



320 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



returned to their quarters, without the loss of a man, 
taking with them thirty-three prisoners. About twelve 
of the Onondagas were killed during the expedition. 

The friendly Oneidas were closely connected with this 
tribe, and they felt and expressed a natural sympathy with 
their misfortunes. The Onondagas were greatly exasper- 
ated, and their war-parties continued to hover around the 
border settlements, ever ready to take advantage of any 
unwariness on the part of the whites. 

In the months of July and August, of this year, (1779,) 
Brant signalized himself by various successful expeditions. 
He plundered and destroyed the little town of Minisink, 
near the Delaware river, in Orange county, New York, and 
defeated a body of the militia who undertook to follow his 
trail, in hopes of recovering the booty he had secured, 
and of avenging the ruin he had caused. Some interesting 
incidents are recorded as connected with this battle. So 
skillfully did the Mohawk chief anticipate and oppose the 
movements of his pursuers, that he secured an advantage 
in position which gave him a signal victory. A large 
proportion of the whites were slain. We are told that, 
after the battle, Brant saw a wounded officer lying upon 
the field, in a hopeless condition, but retaining sufficient 
strength to converse. Unwilling to leave the unfortunate 
man to be torn in pieces by wolves, who would be sure to 
collect as night came on, he determined, from motives of 
humanity, to dispatch him. He therefore commenced a 
conversation with him, and, watching his opportunity, 
put an end to his sufferings unawares, by a blow of the 
tomahawk. 

On this, as on most other occasions in which the Mo- 
hawk chief was engaged in active hostilities, the most 
contradictory reports have been recorded concerning his 
conduct and demeanor. The leader is generally compelled 
to bear the blame of all the excesses committed by his 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



321 



j followers, and it is no easy task, at this distance of time, 
to decide upon the truth of many tales reported under 
circumstances of confusion and excitement. 



CHAPTER VI. 

GENERAL STJLLIVAN's CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE IROQUOIS— 
SUBSEQUENT WARLIKE OPERATIONS OF THE NATION. 

While the events which we have just described were 
transpiring, preparations were going on for a more formid- 
able invasion of the Indian territory than had before been 
attempted by the Americans. The annoyance of an un- 
certain border warfare had become so intolerable that it 
was deemed necessary to put a stop to it by the entire 
destruction of the Iroquois towns and settlements. In 
pursuance of a resolution of Congress, the commander-in- 
chief, General Washington, made arrangements, in the 
j . spring of 1779, to send a large force into the heart of the 
| enemies' country, with directions to burn and destroy all 
| their towns; to lay waste their fields and orchards, to take 
as many prisoners as practicable; and, in a word, to do 
the enemy all the injury possible. The command of the 
expedition was bestowed upon General Sullivan, who was 
directed to ascend the Susquehanna, with troops from 
Pennsylvania, and to form a junction with the northern 
forces at Tioga, near the mouth of the Chemung. The 
detachment from the north, under General Clinton, con- 
sisting of fifteen hundred men, marched from Canajoharie, 
on the Mohawk, for Otsego Lake, (from which flows the 
Susquehanna) about the middle of June. They carried 
with them, over-land, two hundred batteaux, in which to 
descend the river to Tioga. 
21 



322 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



It was intended that Clinton should take with him a 
body of Oneida warriors, but this purpose was frustrated 
by the efforts of General Haldimand, on behalf of the king 
of Great Britain. This officer sent a letter, written in their 
own tongue, to the Oneidas, upbraiding them with the 
breach of ancient treaties, and threatening, if they pre- 
sumed to engage in open warfare against the royalists, to 
let loose upon them such a horde of his Indian allies as 
should utterly destroy them. The effect of this epistle 
was to keep the Oneida warriors, with very few exceptions, 
at home, that they might be in readiness to guard their 
families and homesteads from the threatened invasion. 

Owing to delays at the south, Clinton did not receive 
orders to remove from Otsego until August. He had, in the 
mean time, dammed the outlet of the lake, so that a great 
body of water had accumulated. When his troops were 
embarked, the obstruction was removed, and, aided by 
the unusual flow, the flotilla swept rapidly and smoothly 
down the stream. On the 22d of August the meeting at 
Tioga was effected. Five thousand men, well armed and 
provisioned, were now concentrated, and ready to pour 
upon the devoted towns of the hostile Iroquois. 

The attempt to keep the expedition a secret from the 
enemy would have been utterly useless, from the length 
of time required for the preparatory movements. The 
campaign was anticipated, but no adequate force was pro- 
vided to resist the American army. The only battle which 
took place was at Newtown on the bank of the Chemung, 
near the present town of Elmira. Here a force, variously 
estimated at from eight to fifteen hundred, and consisting 
of Indians under Thayendanegea, and whites commanded 
by the two Butlers, and by Sir John and Guy Johnson, 
was advantageously intrenched. 

A brave and obstinate resistance was made to the ad- 
vance of the Americans, but superior numbers prevailed, 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



823 



and the enemy was driven across the river, after suffering 
considerable loss. This was the only attempt of any im- 
portance that was made to defend the country from ravage 
and destruction. Pursuing his course westward, General 
Sullivan obeyed his orders to the letter. Every where 
the well-built towns and flourishing corn-fields of the con- 
federate nations were reduced to utter ruin. These Indian 
tribes had made no little advance in the arts of civiliza- 
tion. The Mohawks had mostly fled to Canada in the early 
times of the revolution, but others of the Iroquois, par- 
ticularly the Cayugas and Senecas, had continued to culti- 
vate their fields and maintain possession of the homes of 
their forefathers. Immense orchards of apple and other 
fruit-trees were growing luxuriantly around their habita- 
tions, but all fell beneath the axe of the destroyers. The 
movement of so large a body of troops was necessarily 
slow, and as no precautions were taken to conceal their 
operations, the Indians were every where enabled to escape 
to the woods. It must have been with feelings of the bitter- 
est rage and despair that they saw the labor of so many years 
rendered useless, and thought of the coming winter, which 
must overtake them, a wandering and destitute people, 
who must perish, or rely for aid upon their Canadian allies. 

The whole month of September was spent in the work 
of destruction. The course of the march, after the battle 
of Newtown, was first to Catharine's Town, near the head 
of Seneca lake; thence to Kanadaseagea, the principal 
town of the Senecas; to Canandagua; and to Grenesee, 
which was the farthest point reached at the westward. 
From Sullivan's account: "The town of Grenesee con- 
tained one hundred and twenty-eight houses, mostly large 
and very elegant. It was beautifully situated, almost en- 
circled with a clear flatt extending a number of miles; 
over which, extensive fields of corn were waving, together 
with every kind of vegetable that could be conceived." 



324 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



"The entire army," says Stone, " was immediately en- 
gaged in destroying it, and the axe and the torch soon 
transformed the whole of that beautiful region from the 
character of a garden to a scene of drear and sickening 
desolation. Forty Indian towns were destroyed. Corn> 
gathered and ungathered, to the amount of one hundred 
and sixty thousand bushels, shared the same fate ; their 
fruit-trees were cut down; and the Indians were hunted 
like wild beasts, till neither house, nor fruit-tree, nor field 
of corn, nor inhabitant, remained in the whole country." 

In a suffering and destitute condition, the scattered tribes 
of the Iroquois were driven to seek protection and sup- 
port during the hard winter that succeeded their overthrow 
from the English at their posts in the vicinity of Niagara. 
Nothing could now be expected at their hands, by the 
Americans, but acts of vindictive retaliation. Brant led 
his warriors, in pursuance of Haldimand's ominous predic- 
tion, against the settlements of the Oneidas, and reduced 
them to a condition as desolate as that of the habitations 
of his allies. The whole tribe was compelled to fly to the 
eastward, and seek shelter and support from the provincials. 

Thayendanegea was ever ready and watchful for oppor- 
tunity to harass and weaken the American posts, or to 
plunder their unprotected villages. Passing over his 
minor exploits and adventures, of which many strikingly 
characteristic anecdotes are preserved, we come to his 
irruption into the Mohawk valley, in August of 1780. 
He managed, at this time, to circulate a report among the 
settlers in the valley, that he was meditating an attack 
upon Forts Plain and Schuyler, for the purpose of getting 
possession of the stores collected at those posts. The mil- 
itia of the valley hastened to defend the threatened points, 
leaving their villages a prey to the cunning Mohawk. He 
carefully avoided the reinforcements on their way to the 
forts, and fell upon Canajoharie. 



THE IK0QU0IS, OE SIX NATIONS. 



325 



His course was marked by the entire destruction of 
houses, provisions, and crops; of every thing indeed that 
could not be profitably carried away. No barbarities were 
permitted upon the persons of the defenceless women and 
children, but a large number of them were borne away 
into captivity. Brant effected his retreat unmolested; 
his men laden with plunder, and driving before them the 
valuable herds of the white settlers. Accounts, published 
shortly after the transaction, represent that the whole num- 
ber of houses and barns burnt in this invasion, at Cana- 
joharie, Schoharie, and Norman's Kill, was one hundred 
and forty ; and that twenty -four persons were killed, and 
seventy -three made captives. The mind is little impress- 
ed by such bare enumeration, unless the imagination be' 
excited to fill up the outline. ISTo language could express 
the amount of misery and terrible anxiety which such an 
inroad must have caused. To the distracting uncertainty 
respecting the fate of their wives and children, prisoners 
in the hands of a barbarous and exasperated enemy, was 
added the mortification of a consciousness, on the part of 
the provincial militia, that they had been duped. They 
had left their defenceless homes to be ravaged by the 
enemy, while they were busying themselves in the defence 
of a fortified post, against which no attack had been 
meditated. 

The invasion of the Mohawk valley by Sir John John- 
son, in October of this year (1780), was productive of 
results still more extensively disastrous. The Indians 
connected with the expedition were led by Brant, and by 
the great Seneca warrior, Corn-Planter. This chief was a 
half-breed, being a son of a white trader, named O'Bail, 
and a Seneca squaw. During this campaign, he took 
old O'Bail prisoner. Making himself known to his father, 
Corn-Planter enlarged upon his own position and conse- 
quence, offering the old man his choice, whether he would 



326 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



live in ease and plenty among his son's followers, or return 
to the settlements of the whites. O'Bail preferred the 
latter course, and was escorted accordingly to a place of 
safety. We shall speak further of this noted warrior, in 
describing his successful rival, the great orator Bed-Jacket. 

The usual horrors attendant upon Indian warfare marked 
this campaign of Johnson's ; but we are not without evi- 
dence that the principal leader of the savages was inclined 
to no cruelty farther than that necessarily incident to the 
Indian mode of conducting hostilities. On one occasion, 
he sent one of his runners to return a young infant that 
had been carried off with other captives and plunder. 
The messenger delivered a letter from Brant, directed "to 
the commanding officer of the rebel army," in which the 
Mohawk chief avers that "whatever others might do," he 
made no war upon women and children. He mentioned 
the two Butlers, and other tory partisans, as being " more 
savage than the savages themselves." 

The Indians of the Six Nations, engaged in the royal 
cause, made Niagara their winter head-quarters. Thence 
their scouts and war -parties continued to molest the bor- 
der country through the ensuing spring and summer, but 
no very important engagement took place until October 
(1781). On the 24th of that month, the inhabitants of 
the country south of the Mohawk, near the mouth of Scho- 
harie creek, were astonished by the unexpected inroad of 
an overwhelming force of the enemy. The army, under 
the command of Major Boss, amounted to nearly a thou- 
sand men, including Indians. They had made their way 
from Buck's Island, in the St. Lawrence, to Oswego, and 
thence, by Oneida lake, to the Mohawk valley, so sud- 
denly and secretly, that no news of their approach had 
preceded them. 

The invaders commenced the usual course of ravage 
and destruction, but their success was but of short dura- 



\ 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 327 

tion. They were disastrously routed and put to flight by 
the provincials, under Colonel Willet, aided by a body of 
Oneida warriors. The notorious Walter K. Butler per- 
ished during the last engagement with the Americans. 
He was shot and scalped by an Oneida Indian. 

This was the last important procedure connected with 
the war of the revolution, in which the Iroquois bore a 
part. They proved, throughout the contest, most danger- 
ous and efficient alhes, rendering an immense extent of the 
richest and most beautiful portion of the state of New 
York unsafe for the Americans. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CONDITION OF THE SIX NATIONS SUBSEQUENT TO THE 

REVOLUTION CONCLUSION OF BRANt's HISTORY— 

RED-JACKET AND CORN-PLANTER. 

After the conclusion of peace and the recognition of 
the independence of the United States, arrangements were 
made between the British government and those of the 
Six Nations who still wished to reside under the jurisdic- 
tion of the parent country, to secure them an asylum in 
Canada. Thayendanegea was the principal negotiator on 
the part of the Indians, and, at his instance, the country 
bordering on Grand Biver, which empties into Lake Erie, 
about thirty miles westward from Buffalo, was granted by 
the crown to "the Mohawks, and others of the Six Na- 
tions, who had either lost their possessions in the war, or 
wished to retire from them to the British." They were to 
be secured in the possession of a tract extending six miles 
in breadth, on each side of the river, from its mouth to 
its source. 

The course to be taken by the United States respecting 



328 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the Iroquois resident within their limits, was a subject 
which led to much discussion and dissension. A conference 
was finally held at Fort Stanwix, between deputies from all 
the six tribes and United States commissioners ; and, after 
much violent debate, in which the celebrated Red-Jacket 
took a prominent part, it was settled that the Indians should 
cede to the government all jurisdiction over lands in east- 
ern New York, and confine themselves to a district specified 
at the west. All prisoners were to be delivered up, and 
several hostages were given to secure performance of their 
stipulations on the part of the Six Nations. 

Many of the Indians were greatly dissatisfied with this 
treaty. Eed- Jacket (in opposition to Corn-Planter) stren- 
uously advocated a continuance of hostilities. His speech 
at Fort Stanwix upon the subject gained him a wide repu- 
tation for oratory. Brant, who was then about starting 
for England to push the claims of his tribe for remunera- 
tion for their losses in the war, postponed his embarkation, 
and wrote a letter of remonstrance to Colonel Monroe, com- 
plaining especially of the retention of one of his relatives, 
a Captain Aaron Hill, as one of the hostages. 

The Mohawk chief did not lay aside his purpose of visit 
ing the royal court in his people's behalf. He arrived in 
England in the month of December, 1785, and never was 
ambassador received with more flattering attention. His 
intelligence and dignity, together with the remembrance of 
his long and faithful services, commended him to all. He 
was feted by the nobility and gentry; his acquaintance 
was sought by the most learned and celebrated dignitaries 
of the age; and the native shrewdness evinced in his \ 
speeches and remarks drew forth universal applause. His 
attempt to awaken an interest at court, in favor of the 
claims of his nation, was successful ; and a royal order was 
obtained for the indemnity of those whose losses had been 
specified, and for an examination of further demands. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 329 

In the United States, Indian affairs continued unsettled, 
and ominous prospects of future disturbance on the western 
frontier called for wise and cautious action. A great 
council was held in December, 1786, by many tribes of 
Indians, among whom the Six Nations were the most 
prominent, at Huron village, not far from the mouth of 
Detroit river. The object was to concert some general 
plan of resistance to encroachments upon their lands by 
the inhabitants of the United States. It is said that an 
unfriendly feeling towards the new government was pro- 
moted by English officials in their communications with 
the Indians, in reference to the retention, by the crown, 
of Oswego, Detroit, Niagara, and other posts. 

For many years, subsequent to the peace with England, 
bloody skirmishes, and scenes of plunder and rapine, kept 
the western border in continual distress; and when the 
United States undertook the reduction of the hostile tribes 
in 1790 and 91, it was found that the feeling of disaffec- 
tion on the part of the red men was indeed extensive. 
Upon the occasion of St. Clair's disastrous defeat by the 
Miamis and their associates, under the renowned chief, 
Little Turtle, it is asserted by the biograpner of Brant that 
the old Mohawk warrior and the warlike tribe to which he 
belonged bore a conspicuous part. 

No man, born of a savage stock, has ever associated 
with the enlightened and intelligent upon terms of greater 
equality than did Thayendanegea. While he retained all 
his partiality for his own people, and never lost sight of 
their interests, he fully appreciated the advantages of edu- 
cation and civilization. A long life, spent for the most 
part amid scenes of strife and danger, in which the whole 
powers of his active mind and body seemed called forth 
by the stirring scenes in which he mingled, did not unfit 
him for the pursuits of literature and the arts of peace. 
He was indefatigable in his endeavors to elevate the social 



330 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



position of his tribe, and devoted no little time and atten- 
tion to the translation of scriptural and other works into 
the Mohawk tongue, for their benefit. His earlier speci- 
mens of composition, which have been preserved, are, as 
might be expected, rudely and imperfectly expressed, but 
they evince great shrewdness and intelligence. The pro- 
ductions of his latter years are strikingly forcible and 
elegant. 

We cannot go into a detail of the tedious and some- 
what obscure negotiations with the American government 
in which the chief of the Six Nations took part in behalf 
of his people, nor chronicle the events of private interest 
and domestic troubles which disturbed his declining years. 
The old warrior died in November, 1807, at the age of 
sixty-four. 

In the war of 1812, the Mohawks, under John Brant, j 
son and successor of Thayendanegea, took the part of their 
old friends and allies, the English, and did good service 
in various engagements upon the northern frontier. 

In the early part of the nineteenth century, few names 
stand more prominent in Indian annals than that of the 
Seneca chief and orator, Saguoaha, or Red-Jacket. We 
hear of him, indeed, in much earlier times, as opposed to 
Brant, at the time of Sullivan's campaign. The Mohawk 
chief always regarded him with contempt and dislike, j 
speaking of him as an arrant coward, and a man of words 
merely. Saguoaha held the whites generally in suspicion, 
and his great effort appears ever to have been for the pre- 
servation of his nation's independence and individuality. 

We have already mentioned the part which he took at 
the treaty of Fort Stanwix, and his opposition to the 
cession by his nation of their eastern lands. Corn-Planter, 
or O'Bail, who favored the proposal, was high in authority 
at that time among the Senecas ; but Red- Jacket, more by 
his eloquence and sagacity in council than by any warlike 



I — ~~~ ~~~~ 

THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 331 

achievements, was gradually supplanting him. Corn- 
Planter was a veteran warrior, and had fought in former 
times against the English, in behalf of the French. He is 
j said to have been attached to the French, and Indian army, 
| upon the occasion of Braddock's defeat, in 1755. He 
| could ill brook the rivalry of a young man, noted for no 
warlike achievements, and only prominent among his 
! people by virtue of his natural gift of eloquence. To 
check, therefore, this advance of the young orator, O'Bail 
endeavored to work upon the credulity of his people by 
announcing his brother as a prophet, and, for a time, suc- 
ceeded in exciting their reverence and superstitious fears. 
Red-Jacket, however, in open council, eloquently pro- 
| claimed him an impostor, and harangued the tribe with, 
such power and effect as to create a complete diversion in 
his own favor. He was cliosen chief of his tribe, and ex- 
ercised, from that time forth, a control over his numerous 
followers seldom surpassed by any Indian ruler. He was 
a steady opposer of Christianity, holding the missionaries 
who endeavored to effect the conversion of the Six Nations, 
■ in great suspicion. As a specimen of his style of oratory, 
we will give some extracts of Saguoaha's speeches upon 
these religious questions, as they are to be found in 
Thatcher's Indian Biography. It must be observed that, 
j with characteristic obstinacy, the speaker would never use 
the English language, but communicated his remarks by 
means of an interpreter, so that due allowance must be 
made for the change in style and loss of force almost 
always attendant upon a translation. 

At a Seneca council in May, 1811, held at Buffalo 
Creek, he answered a missionary from New York, sub- 
stantially as follows: ''Brother!— we listened to the talk 
you delivered us from the Council of Black- Coats in New 
York. We have fully considered your talk, and the offers 
you have made us. We now return our answer, which 



332 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA, 



we wish you also to understand. In making up out 
minds, we have looked back to remember what has been 
done in our days, and what our fathers have told us was 
done in old times. 

"Brother! — Great numbers of Black-Coats hare been 
among the Indians. With sweet voices and smiling faces, 
they offered to teach them the religion of the white people. 
Our brethren in the East listened to them. They turned 
from the religion of their fathers, and took up the religion 
of the white people. What good has it done? Are. they 
more friendly one to another than we are? No, brother! 
They are a divided people ; — we are united. They quarrel 
about religion ; — we live in love and friendship. Besides, 
they drink strong waters. And they have learned how to 
cheat, and how to practice all the other vices of the white 
people, without imitating their virtues. Brother ! — If you 
wish us well, keep away ; do not disturb us. 

"Brother! — We do not worship the Great Spirit as the 
white people do, but we believe that the forms of worship 
are indifferent to the Great Spirit, It is the homage of 
sincere hearts that pleases him, and we worship him in 
that manner.'' 

After arguing the matter a little more at length, and 
expressing a decided preference for the "talk" of Mr. 
Granger, an Indian agent, and for that of the emissaries 
of the Society of Friends, the orator concluded: 

"Brother! — For these reasons we cannot receive your 
offers. We have other things to do, and beg you to make 
your mind easy, without troubling us, lest our heads should 
be too much loaded, and by and by burst." Bed- Jacket 
remained, through life, consistent with the ground first 
taken by him upon religious and political questions. To 
the clergy he was ever courteous and civil, and appears 
to have been ready to hold argument with them upon 
their creed. In conversation with one of the cloth, he is 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



said to have strenuously denied any responsibility on the 
part of the red men for the death of Christ. "Brother," 
said he, "if you white people murdered 'the Saviour,' 
make it up yourselves. We had nothing to do with it. 
If he had come among us, we should have treated him 
better." - 

In the war of 1812, the Senecas espoused the American 
interests, and, Brant's assertions to the contrary notwith- 
standing, their chief, with his subordinates— Farmer's 
Brother, Little Billy, Pollard, Black Snake, Young O'Bail, 
(a son of Corn-Planter,) and others— gained honorable 
notice for courage and activity from the commanding 
officers of the army to which they were attached. It is 
still more pleasing to reflect that these Indians readily con- 
formed to the more humane usages of modern warfare. 
General Boyd reported that, "the bravery and humanity 
of the Indians were equally conspicuous." 

In his old age, Eed- Jacket became very intemperate, 
and in so many instances conducted himself in a manner 
unbecoming the dignity of a chief, that his opponents, the 
Christian portion of the tribe, succeeded in passing a reso- 
lution, in council, for his deposition. This was effected in 
September, of the year 1827, and a formal written procla- 
mation of the charges said to be substantiated against him, 
was promulgated. The old chief immediately bestirred 
himself to obtain a revocation of this decree. He caused a 
grand council of the Six Nations to be held, and, with all his 
former fire and energy, made answer to his accusers. After 
enumerating and ridiculing the charges against him, (many 
of them really trifling,) he proceeded to speak of his long- 
continued services and care for his people : "I feel sorry 
for my nation," said he; "when I am gone to the other 
worlds,— when the Great Spirit calls me away— who 
among my people can take my place? Many years have 
I guided the nation." 



334 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

The eloquence of the speaker, and a remembrance of 
his faithful zeal for the welfare of his tribe, produced their 
due effect: he was fully restored to his former position and 
authority. During the latter years of his life, Ked-Jacket 
resided at the Seneca settlement, in the vicinity of Buffalo. 
He made several visits to the Eastern cities, where his ap- 
pearance always attracted much interest and attention. 
A traveller who visited the Seneca country a few years 
before the death of the old chief (which took place in 
January, 1830,) speaks of his residence and appearance in 
the following terms: "My path grew more and more in- 
distinct, until its windings were only intimated by the 
smoothness of the turf, which often left me in perplexity, 
till it at last brought me to the view of the abode of the 
chief. He had penetrated, like a wild beast, into the 
deepest recesses of the forest, almost beyond the power of 
a white man to trace him. A wild beast! but I found him 
in a calm, contemplative mood, and surrounded by a cheer- 
ful family. Old and young, collected about the door of 
the log hut where he was seated, seemed to regard him 
with affection; and an infant, which one of the females 
held in her arms, received his caresses with smiles. It 
was a striking scene— a chief! Yet some of his inferiors, 
who cultivate the soil in other parts of the Seneca lands, 
had abundant fields and well-filled store-houses, while he 
was poor, but bore his privations with apparent equanim- 
ity. If he had power, he did not exert it ; if he had passions 
they were quiescent; if he had suffered injuries, they were 
buried in his breast, — His looks, his motions, his attitudes ! 
had that cast of superiority which convinced me that 
whether justly or not, he considered no man his superior 
in understanding.— He appeared to regard himself as the 
only one of his nation who retained the feelings and opin- 
ions of his ancestors, and to pride himself in preserving 
them." Halleck's address to " Eed-Jacket, on looking at 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 335 

his portrait, by Wier," although not in all respects strictly 
accordant with facts, contains a beautiful summary of In- 
dian characteristics. The poem concludes as follows : 

"The monarch mind, the mystery of commanding, 
The birth-hour gift, the art Napoleon, 
Of winning, fettering, moulding, wielding, banding 
The hearts of millions, till they move as one; 

Thou hast it. At thy bidding men have crowded 
The road to death as to a festival ; 
And minstrels, at their sepulchres, have shrouded 
With banner-folds of glory the dark pall. 

Who will believe? Not I— for in deceiving 
Lies the dear charm of life's delightful dream ; 
I cannot spare the luxury of believing 
That all things beautiful are what they seem. 

Who will believe that, with a smile whose blessing 
Would, like the patriarch's, sooth a dying hour, 
With voice as low, as gentle and caressing, 
As e'er won maiden's lip in moonlit bower ; 

With look like patient Job's, eschewing evil; 
With motions graceful as a bird's in air; 
Thou art, in sober truth, the veriest devil 
That e'er clenched fingers in a captive's hair! 

That in thy breast there springs a poison fountain, 
Deadlier than that where bathes the Upas-tree; 
And in thy wrath, a nursing cat-o'-mountain 
Is calm as a babe's sleep, compared with thee ! 

And underneath that face, like Summer Ocean's, 
Its lip as moveless, and its cheek as clear, 
Slumbers a whirlwind of the heart's emotions — 
Love, hatred, pride, hope, sorrow, — all save fear. 

Love — for thy land, as if she were thy daughter, 
Her pipe in peace, her tomahawk in wars; 
Hatred — of missionaries and cold water: 
Pride — in thy rifle-trophies, and thy scars; 



836 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Hope — that thy wrongs may be by the Great Spirit 
Remembered and revenged when thou art gone; 
Sorrow — that none are left thee to inherit 
Thy name, thy fame, thy passions, and thy throne !" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SIX NATIONS. 

The information contained in this chapter is drawn from 
Mr. Schoolcraft's abstracts and statistics, presented in his 
" Notes on the Iroquois." 

In taking the census, ordered by the New York legis- 
lature in 1845, and procuring statistics of the agricultural 
operations of the Iroquois, the author informs us that great 
objection was made by the Indians to what they considered 
an officious intermeddling in their affairs. Their suspicions 
were excited by the novelty of the requisition, and the 
matter was discussed at great length in their councils. 
They could not persuade themselves that the government 
should take such a step from any of the motives urged by 
those to whom the business was intrusted. It appeared to 
them most probable that the measure was but a prelim- 
inary step to the laying a tax upon their property, and 
they consequently opposed continual obstacles to a satisfac- 
tory completion of the duty assigned. The entire popula- 
tion of the Six Nations, about the middle of the eighteenth 
century, was computed at six or eight thousand. By 
other calculations, made a few years later, at the period of 
the American revolution, it was supposed to exceed nine 
thousand. 

Conscious as we are of the many causes constantly ope- 
rating to reduce the numbers of the Indian population, it 
is a matter of no less surprise than satisfaction to learn 




lit. I) JACKET 



t 



THE IROQUOIS, OB SIX NATIONS. 



337 



that there has been no very material decrease in the Iro- 
quois nation since the extension of civilization over their 
ancient country. It is pleasing to reflect that some por- 
tion of the strange race that formerly held undisturbed 
possession of the wilds of America, should be preserved 
to show what advance they are, as a people, capable of 
making, when aided by the light of civilization. 

The tribes of the ancient confederacy are widely scat- 
tered. The larger portion of the Oneidas are settled upon 
a reservation in the vicinity of Green Bay, Wisconsin: 
smaller villages of the tribe are situated further southward, 
near Winnebago Lake. The number of these emigrants 
was stated in 1844 to be seven hundred and twenty-two. 
The Senecas who have moved westward, were put down 
at about two hundred and thirty. Fifty-one of the last- 
mentioned tribe, were resident at Corn-Planter's settle- 
ment in Pennsylvania. 

The Mohawks, Cayugas, and others on Grand river, in 
Canada, probably number over two thousand. We now 
come to the more certain statistics of the New York cen- 
sus, given as follows, by Mr. Schoolcraft: 

"Senecas, 2,441 



Onondagas, 398 

Tuscaroras, 281 

Oneidas, ....... 210 

Cayugas, 123 

Mohawks, 20 

St. Regis Canton, .... 260." 



He estimates the whole nation, in Canada and the United 
States at nearly seven thousand. He supposes, and it 
would seem very justly, that there has been a period, within 
the last century, at which their numbers were reduced much 
below those presented by recent returns; "and that, for 
some years past, and since they have been well lodged and 
clothed, and subsisted hj their own labour, and been ex- 
22 



838 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



empted from the diseases and casualties incident to savage 
life, and the empire of the forest, their population has 
recovered, and is now on the increase.'' 1 

Many satisfactory evidences of thrift and good manage- 
ment, in the shape of saw-mills, school-houses, public 
buildings, and well-kept farms, appear in the Indian set- 
tlements of New York. Nothing seems so conducive to 
the welfare of this species of our population as a depend- 
ence upon their own resources, where the means of advan- 
tageous labor are supplied them. The evils of the annuity 
system, and of the custom of farming out their lands to 
the whites by the Indians, have been fully and eloquently 
set forth. The first of these practices has the effect to 
bring a horde of unprincipled sharpers about the place 
where the yearly payment is made, who, by the tempta- 
tions of useless finery, and, far worse, by the offer of the 
red-man's greatest bane, intoxicating liquors, render the 
assistance of the government oft-times rather a curse than 
a blessing. The latter usage is productive of evil by its 
encouragement of idleness, and by strengthening that sense 
of pride and self-importance which distinguishes the race. 
Where the change in the face of the country, and the in- 
troduction of domestic animals have rendered the chase 
no longer necessary or profitable, the Indian still prefers 
ranging the woods with his dog and gun, to the endurance 
of what he esteems servile labor. 

Striking exceptions to the above remarks are to be seen 
in the conduct and employments of many inhabitants of 
Indian villages in New York. Good husbandry is evi- 
dent in the management of their farms, and artisans of 
no mean skill are frequently met with. Some of these 
Indians, who have turned their attention to the art of work- 
ing in silver, are said to produce very beautiful specimens 
of ornamental work, especially in the in-laying of gun- 
stocks, handles to tomahawks, &c. 



THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 



339 



A portion of the Senecas, settled upon the Alleghany, oc- 
cupy themselves in rafting and boating upon the river, and 
others are engaged in the lake navigation. There seems, 
indeed, to be no want of bodily or mental capacity in the 
North American Indian, for the successful pursuit of 
nearly every trade, profession, and occupation, followed 
by the whites. 

One most beneficial reformation has taken place among 
some of the Iroquois, in a movement which, if universally 
encouraged, would do more to regenerate the red-men, 
than all other influences combined. We allude to the 
introduction and formation of temperance societies. 

The returns of agricultural products given, at the time 
of taking the census before-mentioned, in 1845, are ex- 
tremely gratifying, and may well convince us of the steady 
and hopeful advance made by the New York Indians in 
self-reliance and honest industry. 

Communications from the missionaries, engaged in the 
instruction and religious guidance of the Indians dwelling 
on the different reservations, bear witness to the docility 
and aptness of their pupils. The Rev. Asher Bliss, in a 
letter, published in the appendix to Mr. Schoolcraft's notes, 
observes: 11 As to the capacity of Indian children for im- 
provement, my own impression is, that there is no essen- 
tial difference between them and white children." Of the 
influence of the Christian religion upon the worldly pros- 
perity of the people among whom he was stationed, (the 
Senecas of the Cataraugus reservation,) Mr. Bliss speaks 
enthusiastically. He contrasts "the framed houses and 
barns, the horses, cattle, sheep and hogs, the acres of im- 
proved land ; the wagons, buggies and sleighs ; the clocks, 
watches, and various productions of agriculture," with the 
destitution and poverty of former times, and exclaims, 
naturally enough, "What an astonishing change!" 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

FRENCH INFLUENCE OVER THE INDIANS— BRITISH OCCUPATION OF 

THE WESTERN POSTS PONTIAC AND HIS PLANS FOR 

EXTERMINATING THE ENGLISH. 

Eaely in the eighteenth century the French had com- 
menced extending their influence among the tribes who 
inhabited the country bordering on the great western lakes. 
Always more successful than the other European settlers 
in ^conciliating the affections of the savages among whom 
they lived, they had obtained the hearty good-will of na- j 
tions little known to the English. The cordial familiarity I 
of the race, and the terms of easy equality upon which 
they were content to share the rude huts of the Indians, in- 
| gratiated them more readily with their hosts, than a course 
of English, reserve and formality could have done. The 
most marked instances of the contrast between the two 
great parties of colonists may be seen in the different 
measure of success met with in their respective religious 
operations. While the stern doctrines of New England 
divines, as a general rule, were neglected or contemned 
by their rude hearers, the Jesuits met with signal success 
in acquiring a spiritual influence over the aborigines. 
Whether it was owing to the more attractive form in 
which they promulgated their creed and worship, or 
whether it was due to their personal readiness to adapt 
themselves to the habits, and to sympathize with the feelings 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 



341 



of tlieir proselytes, certain it is that they maintained a 
strong hold upon the affections, and a powerful influence 
over the conduct of their adopted brethren. 

Adair, writing with natural prejudice, says that, "instead 
of reforming the Indians, the monks and friars corrupted 
their morals : for in the place of inculcating love, peace, 
and good- will to their red pupils, as became messengers of 
the divine author of peace, they only impressed their flexi- 
ble minds with an implacable hatred against every British 
subject, without any distinction. Our people will soon 
discover the bad policy of the late Quebec act, and it is to be 
hoped that Grreat- Britain will, in due time, send those black 
croaking clerical frogs of Canada home to their infallible 
Mufti of Borne." The Ottawas, Chippewas, and Potta- 
watomies, who dwelt on the Great Lakes, proved as 
staunch adherents to the French interests as were the Six 
Nations to those of the English, and the bitterest hostility 
I prevailed between these two great divisions of the abo- 
riginal population. 

When English troops, in accordance with the treaty of 
1760, were put in possession of the French stations on the 
lakes, they found the Indians little disposed to assent to 
the change. The great sachem who stood at the head of 
the confederate western tribes was the celebrated Ottowa j 
chief Pontiac. 

The first detachment, under Major Bogers, which entered 
the western country on the way to Detroit, the most im- 
portant post on the lakes, was favorably received by the 
Indian chief, but not without a proud assertion of his own 
rights and authority. He sent a formal embassy to meet 
the English, and to announce his intention of giving an 
audience to their commander. Bogers describes him as a 
chief of noble appearance and dignified address. At the 
conference he inquired by what right the English entered 
his country; and upon the Major's disavowing ail hostile 



J 



342 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



intent towards the Indians, seemed more placable, but 
checked any farther advance, until his pleasure should be 
made known, with the pithy observation: "I stand in the 
path you travel until to-morrow morning." He finally 
allowed the forces to proceed, and even furnished men to 
protect them and their stores. 

Pontiac assisted and protected this garrison for a period, 
but probably even then was pondering in his mind the 
great scheme of restoring his French allies and extermi- 
nating the intruders. He has been frequently compared 
to Philip, the great Wampanoag sachem, both for his 
kingly spirit and for the similarity of their plans to crush 
the encroachments of the English. Pontiac had an im- 
mense force under his control, and could well afford to 
distribute it in as many different detachments as there 
were strongholds of the enemy to be overthrown. It was 
in the year 1763 that his arrangements were completed, 
and the month of June was fixed upon for a simultane- 
ous onslaught upon every British post. The eloquent and 
sagacious Ottowa chief had drawn into his conspiracy, not 
only the people of his own nation, with the Chippewas 
and Pottawatomies, but large numbers from other western 
tribes, as the Miamies, the Sacs and Foxes, the Hurons 
and the Shawanees. He even secured the alliance of a 
portion of the Delawares and of the Six Nations, 

In vain were the officers of the garrisons at Michili- 
mackinac and other distant forts warned by traders, who 
had ventured among the Indians, that a general disaffec- 
tion was observable. They felt secure, and no special 
means were taken to avert the coming storm. 

So well concerted were the arrangements for attack, and 
such consummate duplicity and deception were used in 
carrying them out, that nearly all the English forts at 
the west were, within a few days from the first demon- 
stration, in the hands of the savages, the garrisons having 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 



843 



been massacred or enslaved. No less than nine trading 
and military posts were destroyed. Of the seizure of Mich- 
ilimackinac, next to Detroit the most important station on 
the lakes, we have the most particular account. 

Hundreds of Indians, mostly Chippewas and Sacs, had 
been loitering about the place for some days previous, and 
on the 4th of June they proceeded to celebrate the king's 
birthday by a great game at ball. This sport, carried on, as 
usual, with noise and tumult, threw the garrison off their 
guard, at the same time that it afforded a pretext for clam- 
bering into the fort. The ball was several times, as if by 
accident, knocked within the pickets, the whole gang rush- 
ing in pursuit of it with shouts. At a favorable moment 
they fell upon the English, dispersed and unsuspicious of 
intended harm, and before any effectual resistance could 
be made, murdered and scalped seventy of the number. 
The remainder, being twenty men, were taken captive. 
A Mr. Henry, who, by the good offices of a Pawnee 
woman, was concealed in the house of a Frenchman, gives 
a minute detail of the terrible scene. From his account, 
all the fury of the savage seems to have been aroused in 
the bosoms of the assailants. He avers that he saw them 
drinking the blood of their mangled victims in a transport 
of exulting rage. 

Over an immense district of country, from the Ohio to 
the lakes, the outbreak of the combined nations spread 
desolation and dismay. 



344 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER II. 

SIEGE OF DETROIT BATTLE OF BLOODY BRIDGE. 

Pontiac himself turned his attention to the reduction 
of Detroit. He well knew that a rich booty awaited him 
if he could possess himself of this important place, and 
laid his plans with caution and care suitable to the magni- 
tude of the enterprise. The town was fortified by pickets 
and block-houses, and contained a garrison of one hun- 
dred and thirty men. The other inhabitants consisted of 
only a few traders. 

Pontiac's intention was to demand a conference with 
Major Gladwyn, the commandant, taking with him as many 
of his warriors as could obtain admittance; and at a given 
signal to fall upon and kill the officers of the garrison. The 
work of destruction was to be completed by the aid of his 
followers from without the fort. Those whom he had cho- 
sen to share with him the danger of the first onslaught, 
were each furnished with a rifle, having the barrel so 
shortened that it could be concealed under the blanket 
usually worn by an Indian as his outer garment. 

The account generally received of the manner in which 
Major Gladwyn became acquainted with the plot, and of 
the means resorted to by him to ward off the danger, is 
as follows: Pontiac, with several hundred warriors, pre- 
sented himself without the camp, and requested an audi- 
ence. On the evening of the same day, a squaw came to 
deliver to the Major a pair of moccasins which he had 
engaged her to make from an elk-skin. After he had 
praised her work, paid her handsomely, and dismissed her, 
with directions to convert the rest of the skin into similar 
articles, she continued to linger about the premises, appa- 
rently in an unsatisfied frame of mind. Her answers to 
those who questioned her were so singular, particularly a 



PONTIAC'S WAK. 345 

hint that she dropped respecting the difficulty she should 
have in "bringing the skin back," that the Major exam- 
ined her closely, and succeeded in obtaining full particu- 
lars of the impending danger. The poor woman, affected 
by his kindness, had been unwilling to see her patron mur- 
dered, but fear of the vengeance of her own people, or a 
natural feeling of interest in their success, had restrained 
her from sooner betraying their deadly purpose. 

Through the night, and previous to the morning's con- 
ference, the Indians were distinctly heard performing their 
war-songs and dances ; but no intimation was given them 
of any suspicion, and the party deputed for the grand talk 
was admitted within the pickets. Pontiac saw that the 
garrison was under arms, and he at once asked the reason 
for such precautions. The major represented that it was 
merely to discipline his soldiers. 

The Ottowa chief opened the council with a haughty 
and threatening speech, and was about to give the signal 
for attack — by some peculiar mode of delivering a wam- 
pum belt to the commandant — when a sudden change in 
the demeanor of the English quelled and discomposed him. 
He heard the drums beat, and saw every soldier's musket 
levelled, and the swords of the officers drawn and ready for 
use. Major Gladwyn, stepping to the warrior nearest him, 
lifted his blanket, and disclosed the shortened rifle. He 
then upbraided the sachem for his intended villanj^, and, 
taking no advantage of the opportunity for securing him, 
gave proof of his own high-minded sense of honor by 
dismissing the whole party unharmed. The premeditated 
treachery of Pontiac would have fully justified the com- 
mandant in taking his life, had he deemed it necessary for. 
the protection of himself and people. 

Immediately subsequent to the failure of this undertak- 
ing, the Indians began openly to attack the town. They 
barbarously murdered a Mrs. Turnbell and her two sons, 



346 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



who lived a short distance from the fort; and killed or 
took prisoners the occupants of an establishment belonging 
to a Mr. James Fisher, still further up the river. 

From five hundred to a thousand Indians were now 
seen collected to lay siege to the town. The condition of 
the garrison appeared perilous in the extreme, not only 
from the insufficient supply of provisions, but from the 
necessity for keeping constant watch throughout the whole 
extent of the stockade. The soldiers were wearied by 
being continually on duty, by the loss of their natural 
rest; but their courage and spirit appeared to be unsub- 
dued, and the commandant abandoned his first intention 
of evacuating the place. The French who were residing 
in Detroit brought about a negotiation, but Pontiac insisted 
upon the surrender of the town, and of all the valuable 
goods stored there, as the only condition upon which he 
would discontinue hostilities. The major was equally 
determined in his intention of maintaining his position. 

The siege commenced early in May, and no succor or 
supplies reached the garrison for more than a month. 
About the end of May an attempt had been made to land 
forces and provisions by boats sent from Niagara, but the 
vigilance of the Indians rendered it abortive. Many of 
the English were slain, and many more were reserved to 
glut the vengeance of the savages, at the stake. 

In the month of June, a vessel, also from Niagara, made 
her way up the river, in spite of the attacks of the Indians, 
who exposed their lives with the utmost temerity in at- 
tempts to board her. Fifty soldiers were landed at the 
fort, and a timely supply of provision gave new courage 
to the weary garrison. Mr. Thatcher, in his "Indian 
Biography," gives extracts from various letters, written 
from the fort during the siege, which quaintly enough 
portray the condition of its inmates. We quote the follow- 
ing from a letter of July 9th (1763): 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 347 

"You have long ago heard of our pleasant Situation, but 
the storm is blown over. Was it not very agreeable to 
hear every Day of their cutting, carving, boiling and eat- 
ing our companions? To see every Day dead Bodies 
floating down the Kiver, mangled and disfigured? But 
Britons, you know, never shrink; we always appeared 
gay to spite the Eascals. They boiled and eat Sir Eobert 
Devers ; and we are informed, by Mr. Pauly, who escaped, 
the other Day, from one of the Stations surprised at the 
breaking out of the War, and commanded by himself, that 
he had seen an Indian have the Skin of Captain Eobert- 
son's arm for a Tobacco-Pouch !" 

A reinforcement of some three hundred men, under 
Captain Daly ell, reached Detroit the last of July. Thus 
strengthened, the commander deemed it advisable to make 
an immediate sally, and, if possible, break up the Indian 
encampment. Pontiac heard of the intended movement, 
and was well prepared for the English when they made 
their sortie in the evening. So deadly and unexpected 
was the fire of the Indians, who lay concealed on either 
side of the path, near the bridge over Bloody Run, that 
more than one hundred of the troops were said to have 
been killed or wounded. 

Subsequent to this period we have no reliabfe history of 
the acts of the great sachem of the Ottawas. His people 
hung round Detroit until the ensuing spring, keeping the 
inhabitants in continual alarm. The strong force which 
was led into the western country by General Bradstreet in 
the early part of the summer of 1764, effectually overawed 
and quieted the hostile Indians. 

Pontiac is said to have been assassinated by a Peoria 
Indian, in the English interest, while attending a council in 
1767. Considerable uncertainty, however, attends the 
recital of the latter events of his life, and of the causes 
which led to his death. 



THE DELAWARES, SHAWANEES, 

AND OTHER TRIBES OF THE MIDDLE AND WESTERN STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE DELAWARES— WILLIAM PENN ST. TAMMANY THE 

MORAVIANS — 'THE SHAWNEES — FRENCH AND INDIAN 

WAR BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT MASSACRE OF THE 

CANESTOGA INDIANS DANIEL BOONE. 

"A noble race! but they are gone 
With their old forests wide and deep, 
And we have built our homes upon 
Fields where their generations sleep " 
Bryant. 

Associated with, the early history of the Delawares are 
thoughts of William Perm, and of his peaceful intercourse 
with, and powerful influence over, the wild natives with 
whom he Treated. At the first settlement of the country 
by Europeans, the tribes of this nation occupied no small 
portion of the present state of Pennsylvania, but their 
principal settlements lay between the Potomac and the 
Hudson. Situated between the great northern and south- 
ern confederacies, they were in turn at enmity and engaged 
in wars with either party ; but, at an early day, they were 
in a measure subdued and reduced to a state of inferiority 
by the Six Nations. 

The conduct of Penn towards the Indians has ever been 
spoken of with high admiration; and we are assured that 
his care for their interests, and anxiety to secure their 



WILLIAM P£jVJV\ 



THE DEL AW ARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 349 

rights, and to protect them from wrongs and aggression, 
caused his name to be idolized among the Delawares. 
Upon obtaining the immense grant from the crown, named 
Pennsylvania at the time of its bestowment, his first 
thought was to draw up a table of " conditions and con- 
cessions," for the" government of those who should adven- 
ture with him in the settlement of the wilderness. He 
expressly stipulated, in behalf of the Indians, that their 
persons and property should be protected by the same 
laws and penalties as those of the whites; that overreaching 
in trade should be avoided by the conduct of all sales in 
market overt; that a jury of six whites and six Indians 
should pass upon matters in dispute between individuals 
of the different races ; and that the interest of the Indian 
should be made the special care of every magistrate. 

In the autumn of 1682, Penn came over from England 
to regulate his new colony, and especially to confirm the 
friendly relations existing with the Indians inhabiting his 
territory. In Clarkson's Memoirs of Penn, the following 
mention is made of his grand treaty with these native pro- 
prietors. From religious scruples, he did not consider his 
claim, by virtue of the king's grant, to be valid without 
the assent of the occupants, and he determined to make 
honorable purchases of all that he should require. Ar- 
rangements had been made, by commissioners, previous 
to Perm's arrival, for a great meeting, for the purpose of 
ratifying the proposed sale. "He proceeded, therefore, 
(at the appointed time,) accompanied by his friends, con- 
sisting of men, women, and young persons of both sexes, 
to Coaquannoc, the Indian name for the place where 
Philadelphia now stands. On his arrival there, he found 
the sachems and their tribes assembling. They were seen 
in the woods, as far as the eye could carry, and looked 
frightful, both on account of their number and their arms. 
The Quakers are reported to have been but a handful in 



350 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



comparison, and these without any weapon — so that dis- 
may and terror had come upon them, had they not con- 
fided in the righteousness of their cause." 

The conference took place upon the site afterwards 
occupied by the town of Kensington, a few miles above 
Philadelphia, and called, by the Indians^ Shackermaxon. 
"There was, at Shackermaxon, an elm-tree of prodigious 
size. To this the leaders, on both sides, repaired, approach- 
ing each other under its widely-spreading branches." 
Penn wore no ornament, or symbol of authority, except a 
blue sash. Standing up before the assembly, he directed 
the articles of merchandize brought for the purchase, to be 
spread before him, and, displaying the engrossed copy of 
the treaty, awaited the movements of the Indian chiefs. 

"One of the sachems, who was Chief among them, put 
upon his own head a kind of chaplet, in which there ap- 
peared a small horn. This, as among the primitive Eastern 
nations, and, according to scripture language, was an em- 
blem of kingly power. * * Upon putting on this horn, 
the Indians threw down their bows and arrows, and seated 
themselves round their chiefs, in the form of a half-moon 
upon the ground." 

The interpreter now announced the readiness of the 
chiefs to listen, and Penn proceeded to read and explain 
the provisions of the treaty. He premised that he and his 
people used no warlike implements, but that all their 
desire was for peace and concord. By the articles of 
agreement, the Indians were to be allowed to retain pos- 
session, for all needful purposes, even of the land sold, 
and particular specifications were inserted, touching the 
manner in which their rights should be enforced. 

He then made the stipulated payments; distributed ad- 
ditional presents ; and, laying the parchment on the ground, 
proceeded to say that "he would not do as the Maryland- 
ers did, that is, call them Children or Brothers only ; foi 



THE DEL AW ARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 351 

often Parents were apt to whip their children too severely, 
and Brothers sometimes would differ: neither would he 
compare the Friendship between him and them to a Chain, 
for the rain might sometimes rust it, or a tree might fall 
and break it; but he should consider them as the same 
flesh and blood with the Christians, and the same as if one 
man's body were to be divided into two parts." Handing 
the parchment to the chief sachem, Penn then desired him 
and his associates "to preserve it carefully for three gen- 
erations, that their children might know what had passed 
between them, just as if he had remained himself with 
them to repeat it. * * 'This,' says Yoltaire, 'was the 
only treaty between those people and the Christians that 
was not ratified by an oath, and that never was broken.' " 

After-accounts of the Indians, as given by Penn and his 
associates, in which the estimable points of native charac- 
ter are pleasingly portrayed, contrast strangely with the 
maledictions and bitter expressions of hatred which too 
many of the early chroniclers heap upon their Indian ene- 
mies. Never was a truer saying than the Spanish proverb, 
"he who has injured you will never forgive you." 

The name by which these Indians have ever been desig- 
nated, was bestowed upon them by the English, from 
Lord De la War : in their own tongue they were called the 
Lenni Lenape, (Original People,) as the chief and principal 
stock from which mankind in general had sprung. 

Conspicuous among the traditions of the Delawares 
appears the name of their old chief Tamanend, or Tam- 
many. We have no very specific accounts of the history 
of this renowned sachem, but the veneration with which 
the Indians recounted his wisdom and virtues served to 
raise his character so high with the colonists that he was, 
in a manner, canonized. The "Home Journal," of June 
12th, 1852, makes the following mention of the singular 
respect paid to his memory : 



852 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



"St. Tammany is, we believe, our only American Saint. 
He was the chief of an Indian tribe which inhabited Penn- 
sylvania, while that state was still a colony, and excited 
so much respect by his virtues and exploits, both among 
the white and red men, that, after his death, he was can- 
onized, and the day of his birth, the first of May, regarded 
as a holiday. 

"'All Christian countries,' says the Savannah Eepublican, 
'have their tutelar saint. England has her St. George; 
Scotland her St. Andrew; Ireland her St. Patrick; France 
her St. Crispan; and Spain her St. Jago. In this country 
we have St. Tammany. Throughout the Revolutionary 
I War, the natal-day of this saint was observed with great 
| respect, by the army as well as by the people. It was not 
till Mr. Jefferson's administration, when General Dearborn 
was Secretary of War, that the observance of it by the 
army was dispensed with, and the change was made then 
only with the view of carrying out the system of retrench- 
ment which the president sought to introduce in the 
administration of the government. The first fort built at 
| St. Mary's, Camden county, and perhaps the first fort in 
| the state, was called Fort St. Tammany. A gentleman 
now residing in this city was present, while a boy, at a 
celebration, by the officers and soldiers stationed at the fort, 
of St. Tammany's-day. The May-pole used on this occa- 
sion was a tree, with its branches and bark removed; and 
around that the soldiers danced and celebrated the day.' " 
It was among the Delawares that one of the most inter- 
esting communities of Christian Indians ever existing in 
America, was established by the efforts of the Moravian 
mission. The venerable Count Zinzendorf, David Zeis- 
berger, and John Heckewelder, were zealous and promi- 
nent partakers in the work of converting and instructing 
the Indians. From Heckewelder we have received much 
minute and interesting detail of the habits of the people 



COL. GEORGE WJSHIKGTOIC. 



THE DEL AWAKES , SHAWANEES, ETC. 353 

among whom lie labored, and the humanizing and endur- 
ing influence of Christian doctrine, enforced by good 
example on the part of its preachers. 

The circumstances under which the missionary work 
was carried on, were extremely adverse. During the long 
and bloody French and Indian wars, every tale of border 
cruelties and massacre, committed by the savages, would 
instantly arouse a spirit of retaliation against the whole 
race, which frequently resulted in the most brutal outrages 
against the peaceful Moravian Indians. A population of 
lawless whites inhabited the border country, whom Hecke- 
welder mildly rebukes in the following terms : 

"I have yet to notice a class of people generally known 
to us by the name of 'backwoods-men,' many of whom, 
acting up to a pretended belief, that 'an Indian has no 
I more soul than a buffalo;' and that to kill either is the 
j same thing ; have, from time to time, by their conduct, 
| brought great trouble and bloodshed on the country, 
j Such then I wish to caution, not to sport in that manner 
| with the lives of God's creatures. * * * * Believe that 
I a time will come when you must account for such vile 
■ deeds! When those who have fallen a sacrifice to your 
j wickedness, will be called forth in judgment against you ! 
nay, when your own descendants will testify against you.' 11 

The Shawanees were a very extensive and warlike tribe. 
They were, according to Indian tradition, originally from 
the south, having inhabited the country in the vicinity of 
Savannah, in Georgia, and a portion of "West Florida. 
Being engaged in continual war with the Creeks and other 

{ southern nations, and being of an adventurous and roving 
disposition, they finally emigrated northward, and were 

| received upon terms of friendship by the Delawares. 
They settled in Western Pennsylvania, extending them- 
23 

1 _J | 



854 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



selves gradually farther west, and mingling with other 
neighboring nations. Their head-quarters were, in early 
times, not far from Pittsburgh. In their new homes they 
prospered and increased, and long remained one of the 
most formidable nations of the west. They united with 
the Delawares in hostilities against the southern tribes. 

In after-times, thrilhng legends of war and massacre in 
"the dark and bloody ground," and throughout the west- 
ern border, attest the active and dangerous spirit of this war- 
like and implacable tribe. In the French and Indian wars, 
and in the long struggle which resulted in our national 
independence, they were so mingled with other western 
tribes that we shall not attempt to distinguish them, nor 
shall we devote that space to the biography of many of 
their chiefs and warriors which their prowess might de- 
mand in a more extended work. "We shall give, in their 
order, some of the more celebrated Indian campaigns at 
the west, with various incidents connected with the first 
settlement of the western states. 

About the middle of the eighteenth century, the French, 
as already mentioned, had, in strengthening their cordon 
of posts between their settlements in Canada and Louis- 
iana, formed alliance with many Indian tribes to whom 
they were brought in proximity. Their nearest and most 
dangerous approach to the English establishments, was in 
the erection of the military stronghold called Fort Du- 
quesne at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monono- a - 
hela. In the attempt to dislodge them from this post the 
military talents of George Washington were first exhibited. 
After distinguishing himself by his bravery and prudence 
in contests with the Indians and French, which, owing to 
an insufficiency of force, resulted in nothing decisive or 
materially advantageous, he was attached to the powerful 
army under General Braddock, in the capacity of aid-de- 
camp to the commanding officer. 



THE DELAWAKES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 355 

With a force of more than two thousand men, besides 
some Indian allies, the British general set systematically 
about the reduction of the French fort. Leaving a large 
body of troops under Colonel Dunbar, at Great Meadows, 
he marched in compact military array to the attack. No 
one doubts the courage of General Bradclock, or his capa- 
city to have conducted a campaign in an open and inhabited 
country, but his dogmatic obstinacy and adherence to es- 
tablished tactics proved, upon this occasion, the destruction 
of himself and his army. 

When Washington, then only twenty-two years of age, 
respectfully represented to his superior the danger of an 
exposed march through a country like that they were trav- 
ersing, and suggested the necessity for providing a sufficient 
party of scouts acquainted with the locality, to guard 
against surprise, he was insultingly checked by the ejacu- 
lation: "High times! high times! when a young Buck- 
skin teaches a British general how to fight." 

It was on the 9th of July, 1755, that the engagement 
took place. Captain Contracceur, who had command of 
the fort, had obtained information of the advance upon 
the previous day, and dispatched M. de Beaujeu, with all 
the troops he could muster^ to meet the enemy. His whole 
available force consisted of from five hundred to one thou- 
sand men, of whom the majority were Indians, but a 
knowledge of the ground, and the gross error of the Eng- 
lish commander, more than compensated for the disparity 
in numbers and discipline. An ambush was formed where 
a ravine led from a plain into a high wooded piece of 
ground. The advancing column had no sooner penetrated 
into this defile than the attack commenced. 

A most appalling carnage ensued: the Indians, firing j 
from covert upon the closely marshalled ranks of the | 
j regulars, soon threw them into utter confusion. M. Beau- j 
j jeu, was, indeed, killed at the first onset, but his lieuten- 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



ant, Dumas, continued to inspire his troops, and cheer them 
on to their now easy victory. A complete rout ensued, 
and the Indians, rushing from their places of concealment, 
fell upon the panic-stricken fugitives with their deadly 
tomahawks. The Virginians alone proved in any degree 
effective in resisting the enemy and covering the disor- 
derly retreat. The loss, on the part of the British, in 
killed, wounded and prisoners, was not far from eight 
hundred. All the artillery and baggage fell into the hands 
of the French, who, with their Indian allies, remained in 
undisputed possession of the field. 

Falling back upon Colonel Dunbar's reserve, instead of 
making a renewed stand, the whole army continued a 
precipitate retreat into Virginia. In this action most of 
the Virginia troops, who, adopting the Indian manner of j 
warfare, betook themselves to sheltered positions when the j 
fight commenced, fell victims to their constancy and brave- j 
ry. Colonel Washington had not fully recovered from 
a severe attack of illness at the time and was with great 
j difficulty able to undergo the fatigues incident to his po- 
j sition. He had two horses shot under him, and received 
four bullets through his coat, but escaped from the con- 
flict unwounded. General Bracklock died a few days after, 
of a wound in the lungs. 

I 

The Delawares, and more especially the Shawanees, were ; 
implicated in the extensive conspiracy excited by the re- 
nowned Pontiac, in the year 1763. It was in this year i 
that a cruel and disgraceful outrage was perpetrated upon 
a peaceful community of Indians at Canestoga, near Lan- 
caster. ISTo sooner had news of Indian murders and rav- 
ages been spread among the white settlements, than a 
determination was evinced by certain miscreants to de- j 
stroy these harmless people, upon suspicion or pretence j 



THE DELAWAEES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



357 



that they were concerned, in some way, in the recent 
border outrages. 

The Canestoga Indians were few in number, and per- 
fectly peaceful and inoffensive. They had inhabited the 
same little settlement for more than a century, and, accord- 
ing to Hecke welder, " their ancestors had been among 
those who had welcomed William Penn, on his first ar- 
rival in this country; presenting him, at the time, with 
venison, &c." 

In the month of November, (1763,) fifty-seven white 
savages started from Paxton to destroy this establishment. 
They murdered all whom they could find, to the number 
of fourteen, of every age and sex: the remainder (fifteen 
or twenty) escaped to Lancaster, and Were locked up, for 
safety, in the jail. Hither the " Paxton boys," as they 
were termed, pursued the poor creatures, and, breaking 
into the inclosure, brutally massacred the whole of them. 
The following is extracted from the letter of an eye-wit- 
ness to this transaction. 

" * * I ran into the prison-yard, and there, 0 what a 

horrid sight presented itself to my view ! ! ISTear the 

back door of the prison, lay an old Indian and his squaw, 
(wife,) particularly well known and esteemed by the peo- 
ple of the town, on account of his placid and friendly 
conduct. His name was Will Sock; across him and his 
squaw lay two children of about the age of three years, 
whose heads were split with the tomahawk, and their 
scalps all taken off. Towards the middle of the gaol-yard, 
along the west side of the wall, lay a stout Indian, whom 
I particularly noticed to have been shot in the breast, his 
legs were chopped with the tomahawk, his hands cut off, 
and finally a rifle-ball discharged in his mouth; so that 
his head was blown to atoms, and the brains were splashed 
against, and yet hanging to the wall, for three or four feet 
around. * * In this manner lay the whole of them, men, 



853 



EACE5 OF AMERICA. 



women and children, spread about the prison- vard: ^hot- 
scalped— hacked— and cut to pieces.'' 

The events of Cresap's war. in which the Shawanees and 
Delawares were so largely concerned, have been already 
briefly described, in connection with the historv of the 
Iroquois. After the great battle at Point Pleasant, in which 
tney and their allies were defeated, a short cessation of 
hostilities between them and the colonists ensued. The 
breaking out of the revolutionary war revived old ani- 
mosities, and suggested new motives for contention. The 
Shawanees were early won over to espouse the British 
interests: the division of the Delawares upon the question 
will be hereafter explained. 

^ The best inforption handed down to us concerning the 
fehawanees, at this period, is to be found in the adventures 
of the bold pioneer, Daniel Boon. Impatient of the re- 
straints or competitions of an inhabited country, and led 
by a rowing, adventurous spirit, and by an enthusiastic 
admiration of the beauties and grandeur of the un^ettVl 
astern wilderness, he forced his way into the trackless 
scuitudes of Kentucky, and laid the foundation of a settle- 
ment whose growth and prosperity are almost unparalleled. 

0nthe Sth of February. 1778. Boone was taken prisoner 
by a strong force of these Indians, then on their march 
against the settlement at Boonesborough. He was carried 
to their principal town, Old Chilicothe, on the Little 
Miami, and there had abundant opportunity for observing 
their native peculiarities and usages. His character. <ome- 
what analogous to that of Captain John Smith. Benjamin 
Church, and others, noted for their successes with the 
Indians, was bold, frank and fearless. Men of such nature 
and disposition, however rude and uncultivated, are alwavs 
the best able to conciliate the affections, as well as exercise 
control over the minds of savages. 

Boone's captors took such a liking to him that thev 



THE DELA WAKES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 359 

positively refused to deliver him up to the English, at 
Detroit, whither he was conveyed with his companions. 
Leaving the rest of their prisoners at that post, they took 
him back to Chilicothe, refusing the governor's offer of one 
hundred pounds if they would part with their favorite. 
The king of the tribe treated Boone with great courtesy 
and respect, and he had no reason to complain of his ac- 
commodations, as he enjoyed whatever comforts were 
within the reach of his masters. He was adopted into a 
family, according to the usual Indian custom; in which 
position he says: "I became a son, and had a great share 
in the affection of my new parents, brothers, sisters, and 
friends. I was exceedingly familiar and friendly with 
them, always appearing as cheerful and satisfied as possi- 
ble, and they put great confidence in me." 

His captivity lasted until the month of June, when, re- 
turning from a salt-making excursion, on the Scioto, he 
found four hundred and fifty Shawanee warriors, collected 
with arms and war-paint, and bound on an expedition 
against Boonesborough. This incited him to attempt an 
escape, that he might forewarn the settlement of the intent. 
He fled a little before day, on the 16th, and made the 
journey, of one hundred and sixty miles, supported by a 
single meal. 

The bold and astonishing defence of the little fort at 
Boonesborough, in the month of August, against a large 
force of Indians, accompanied by certain Frenchmen, is 
simply and unostentatiously described in the auto-biography 
of this redoubted pioneer. The enemy, after a siege of 
twelve days, in which every expedient of force and treach- 
ery failed to dislodge the garrison, were forced to retire 
without effecting their purpose. One of their stratagems 
was as follows: A treaty was proposed by the assailants, 
and after the articles were drawn up, in front of the fort, 
and formally signed, in the words^of the narrative: "the 



360 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Indians told us it was customary with them on such occa- 
sions for two Indians to shake hands with every white 
man on the treaty, as an evidence of entire friendship. 
We agreed to this, but were soon convinced their policy 
was to take us prisoners. They immediately grappled us; 
but, though surrounded by hundreds of savages, we extri- 
cated ourselves from them, and escaped all safe into the 
garrison, except one that was wounded, through a heavy 
fire from their army." 

Boone took -a prominent part in many of the contests 
which preceded the quiet occupation of the land of his 
choice, and underwent toils, dangers, and privations sel- 
dom awarded to any one man; but he lived to enjoy the 
fruits of his labors. An old Indian, upon the occasion of 
one of the more important treaties of cession, after signing 
the articles, took Boone by the hand, saying: "Brother, 
we have given you a fine land, but I believe you will have 
much trouble in settling it." The old settler adds, speak- 
ing of the former appellation bestowed on this " debateable 
ground": "My footsteps have often been marked with 
blood, and therefore I can truly subscribe to its original* 
name. Two darling sons and a brother have I lost by 
savage hands. * * Many dark and sleepless nights 
have I been a companion for owls, separated from the 
cheerful society of men, scorched by the summer's sun, 
and pinched by the winter's cold— an instrument ordained 
to settle the wilderness. But now the scene is changed : 
peace crowns the sylvan shade." 



TRAPPING THE BEAR. 



THE DELAWARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



361 



CHAPTER II. 

DIVISION OF THE DELAWARES WHITE-EYES, AND PIPE INDIAN 

CONFEDERACY OF 1781 ATTACK ON BRYANT'S STATION, AND 

BATTLE NEAR THE BLUE LICKS GENERAL CLARKE'S EX- 
PEDITION — DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS OF HARMAR AND 

ST. CLAIR MILITARY OPERATIONS OF GENERAL 

WAYNE DECISIVE BATTLE NEAR THE 

MAUMEE RAPIDS, AND SUBSEQUENT 
TREATY OF PEACE. 

" They waste us — ay— like April snow 
In the warm noon, we shrink away; 
And fast they follow as we go 

Towards the setting day — 
Till they shall fill the land, and we 
Are driven into the western sea." 

Bryant. 

As the settlements of the Europeans continued to in- 
crease, the Delawares gradually removed from their old 
quarters, on the river and bay which bear their name, to 
the wilderness of the west. No small portion of the tribe 
was, at the breaking out of the revolutionary war, settled 
in Ohio, on the banks of the Muskingum, and in the adja- 
cent country. 

Every influence was brought to bear, by the English 
emissaries among the Delawares, to induce them to take 
up the hatchet against the rebellious Americans. The 
effort was, in part, successful : a large party, headed by the 
celebrated Captain Pipe, a chief of the Wolf tribe, declared 
for the king, while those inclined to peace and neutrality, 
or whose sympathies were on the side of the colonies, re- 
mained under the guidance of Koguethagechton — Anglice, 
Captain White-Eyes. The disasters and perplexities in 
which the nation was involved by such a division might 



1 



362 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

readily be foreseen. Both the opposing leaders were men 
of talent, energy, and boldness, and each was heart and 
soul enlisted in the cause to which he had united himself. 

It is recorded of White-Eyes that, early in the war, he 
met with a deputation of the Senecas, (then, as we have 
seen, in the English interest,) and boldly avowed his own 
opinion. In reply to the old taunt, thrown out by one of 
the Iroquois, of former subjection and humiliation, the 
chief broke forth indignantly: "I know well that you 
consider us a conquered nation — as women — as your infe- 
riors. You have, say you, shortened our legs, and put 
petticoats on us ! You say you have given us a hoe and 
a corn-pounder, and told us to plant and pound for you— 
you men, you warriors ! But look at me. Am I not full- 
grown, and have I not a warrior's dress? Ay, I am a 
man, and these are the arms of a man,— and all that 
country (pointing towards the Alleghany) on the other 
side of the water, is miner White-Eyes was signally 
successful in his efforts to undeceive the Indians within 
his influence, who had been tampered with and imposed 
upon by English agents, or excited by sympathy with the 
war-party. His death, which took place at Tuscarawas, in 
the winter of 1779-80, was a very unfortunate event for 
the Americans. He died of that great scourge of the In- 
dian races, the small-pox. 

The spring of 1781 was a terrible season for the white 
settlements in Kentucky and the whole border country. 
The savages who surrounded them had never shown so 
constant and systematic a determination for murder and 
mischief. Early in the summer, a great meeting of In- 
dian deputies from the Shawanees, Delawares, Cherokees, 
Wyandots, Tawas, Pottawatomies, and divers other tribes 
from the north-western lakes, met in grand council of war 
at Old Chilicothe. The persuasions and influence of two 
infamous whites, one McKee, and the notorious Simon 



THE DELAWABES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



363 



Girty, "inflamed their savage minds to mischief, and led 
them to execute every diabolical scheme." 

Bryant's station, a post five miles from Lexington, was 
fixed upon, by the advice of Girty, as a favorable point for 
the first attack. About five hundred Indians and whites 
encompassed the place accordingly, on the 15th of August. 
Stratagem and assault alike failed to effect an entrance: 
a small reinforcement from Lexington managed to join the 
garrison, and the besiegers were compelled to retire on the 
third day, having lost thirty of their number. When 
Girty came forward, on one occasion during the siege, 
bearing a flag of truce, and proposing a surrender, he was 
received with every expression of disgust and contempt. 
His offers were spurned, and he retired, "cursing and 
cursed," to his followers. 

The enemy were pursued, on their return, by Colonels 
Todd and Trigg, Daniel Boone, and Major Harland, with 
one hundred and seventy-six men. The rashness of some 
individuals of this party, who were unwilling to listen to 
the prudent advice of Boone, that an engagement shoidd 
be avoided until a large expected reinforcement should 
arrive, led to their utter discomfiture. They came up 
with the Indians at a bend in Licking river, beyond the 
Blue Licks, and had hardly forded the stream when they 
were attacked by an overpowering force. The enemy 
had cut off all escape, except by recrossing the river, 
in the attempt to accomplish which, multitudes were 
destroyed. Sixty-seven of the Americans were killed; 
among the number, the three principal officers and a son 
of Boone. 

The outrages of the savages were, soon after this, sig- 
nally punished. General Clarke, at the head of a thousand 
men, rendezvousing at Fort Washington, where Cincinnati 
now stands, invaded the Indian territory. The inhabitants 
fled, in terror, at the approach of so formidable an army, 



364 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



leaving their towns to be destroyed. " We continued our 
pursuit," says Boone, who was with the army, "through 
five towns on the Miami river— Old Chilicothe, Pecaway, 
New Chilicothe, Willis' Towns, and Chilicothe— burnt 
them all to ashes, entirely destroyed their corn, and other 
fruits, and every where spread a scene of desolation in the 
country." 

After hostilities between England and America had 
ceased, these western tribes of Indians still continued to 
molest the border inhabitants of the colonies. Attempts 
to bring about conferences failed signally in producing 
any marked or permanent benefit, and it was determined 
by the government to humble them by force of arms. 

In the autumn of 1791, General Harmar marched into 
the Indian territories, at the head of nearly fifteen hundred 
men. The campaign was signally unsuccessful. The army 
returned to Fort Washington, dispirited and broken down, 
having sustained a heavy loss in men and officers, and 
with the mortifying consciousness of an utter failure in 
the accomplishment of the end in view. 

Major-G-eneral Arthur St. Clair was appointed to the 
command of the next expedition. With a force of more 
than two thousand men, he marched towards the Indian 
settlements, and on the 3d of November, (1791,) encamped 
within fifteen miles of the Miami villages. On his way 
from Fort Washington to this point, he had built and 
garrisoned Forts Hamilton and Jefferson. By this reduc- 
tion of his troops, and by a more extensive loss from the 
desertion of some hundreds of cowardly militia, he had at 
the time of which we are speaking, but about fourteen 
hundred effective soldiers. 

The confederate Indian tribes kept themselves perfectly 
informed, by their scouting parties, of all the enemy's 
movements, and, emboldened by recent success, prepared 
to give the advancing army a warm reception. The prin- 



THE DELAWARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



365 



cipal leader of the united nations, was the celebrated 
Miami chief, Michikinaqua, or Little Turtle. He was one 
of the greatest warriors and most sagacious rulers ever 
known among the red men, and he had now an oppor- 
tunity for the full display of his abilities. An immense 
horde of fierce savages, impatient for war, was under his 
control, and his movements were seconded by able subor- 
dinates. Among these, the most noted were Buckonga- 
helas, now war chief of the Delawares, and Blue- Jacket, 
the Shawanee. According to Colonel Stone, the great 
Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, Thayendanegea, was also 
present, lending the assistance of his counsel and arms. 
Hurons or Wyandots, Iroquois, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, 
Chippewas, Miamies, Delawares, and Shawanees, with a 
host of minor tribes, were collected to repel the common 
enemy/ The number of their warriors assembled on the 
present occasion is estimated to have been about fifteen 
hundred, although some have set it down at twice that force. 

Before the rising of the sun, on the following day, (No- 
vember 4th,) the savages fell upon the camp of the whites. 
ISTever was a more decisive victory obtained. In vain did 
the American general and his officers exert themselves to 
maintain order, and to rally the bewildered troops. The 
Indians, firing from covert, thinned the ranks and picked 
off the officers by a continuous and murderous discharge. 
A disorderly retreat was the result: Artillery, baggage, 
and no small portion of the small arms of the militia, fell 
into the hands of the exultant pursuers. Fort Jefferson 
was nearly thirty miles distant, and thither the defeated 
army directed its flight. The Indians followed close upon 
the fugitives, cutting down and destroying at will, until, 
as is reported, one of their chiefs called out to them to 
"stop, as they had killed enough!" 

The temptation offered by the plunder to be obtained at 
the camp induced the Indians to return, and the remnant 



366 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



of the invading army reached Fort Jefferson about sunset. 
The loss, in this battle, on the part of the whites, was no 
less than eight hundred and ninety-four ! in killed, wounded, 
or missing. Thirty-eight officers, and five hundred and 
ninety-three non-commissioned officers and privates were 
slain or missing. The Indians lost but few of their men, 
judging from a comparison of the different accounts, not 
much over fifty. 

At the deserted camp the victorious tribes took up their 
quarters, and delivered themselves up to riot and exulta- 
tion. G-eneral Scott, with a regiment of mounted Kentucky 
volunteers, drove them from the spot a few weeks later, 
with the loss of their plunder and of some two hundred of 
their warriors. 

No further important movement was made to overthrow 
the power of the Indians for nearly three years from this 
period. Negotiation proved utterly fruitless with a race 
of savages inflated by their recent brilliant successes, and 
consequently exhorbitant in their demands. When it was 
finally evident that nothing but force could check the 
continuance of border murders and robbery, an army was 
collected, and put under the command of General Wayne, 
sometimes called "Mad Anthony," in a rude style of com- 
pliment to his energy and courage, not uncommon in those 
times. The Indians denominated him the "Black-Snake." 

The winter of 1793-4 was spent in fortifying a military 
post at Greenville, on the Miami, and another, named Fort 
Eecovery, upon the field of St. Clair's defeat. The last- 
mentioned station was furiously attacked by the Indians, 
assisted by certain Canadians and English, on the 30th of 
the following June, but without success. It was not until 
August, (1794,)that General Wayne felt himself sufficiently 
reinforced, and his military posts sufficiently strengthened 
and supplied, to justify active operations in the enemy's 
country. 



THE DEL AWAKES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 367 



When the army was once put in motion, important and 
decisive events rapidly succeeded. The march was di- 
rected into the heart of the Indian settlements on the 
Miami, now called Maumee, a river emptying into the 
western extremity of Lake Erie. Where the beautiful 
stream Au Glaise empties into this river, a fort was imme- 
diately erected, and named Fort Defiance. From this post 
General Wayne sent emissaries to invite the hostile na- 
tions to negotiation, but the pride and rancor of the In- 
dians prevented any favorable results. Little Turtle, 
indeed, seemed to forebode the impending storm, and ad- 
vised the acceptance of the terms offered. "The Ameri- 
cans," said he, "are now led by a chief who never sleeps: 
the night and the day are alike to him. * * Think well 
of it. There is something whispers me it would be pru- 
dent to listen to his offers of peace." 

The British, at this time, in defiance of their treaties 
with the United States, still maintained possession of va- 
rious military posts at the west. A strong fort and garri- 
son was established by them near the Miami rapids, and 
in that vicinity the main body of the Indian warriors was 
encamped. Above, and below the American camp, the 
Miami, and Au Glaise, according to Wayne's dispatches, 
presented, for miles, the appearance of a single village, 
and rich corn-fields spread on either side. "I have never 
seen," says the writer, "such immense fields of corn in 
any part of America, from Canada to Florida." 

Negotiations proved futile: the Indians were evidently 
bent on war, and only favored delay for the purpose of 
collecting their full force. General Wayne therefore 
marched upon them, and, on the 20th of the month, a ter- 
rible battle was fought, in which the allied tribes were 
totally defeated and dispersed. The Indians greatly out- 
numbered their opponents, and had taken their usual pre- 
cautions in selecting a favorable spot for defence. They 



368 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



could not, however, resist the attack of brave and disci- 
plined troops, directed by so experienced and skillful a 
leader as Wayne. The fight terminated— in the words of 
the official dispatch— " under the guns of the British gar- 
rison. * * The woods were strewed, for a considerable dis- 
tance, with the dead bodies of Indians and their white 
auxiliaries; the latter armed with British muskets and 
bayonets." 

Some days were now spent in laying waste the fields 
and villages of the miserable savages, whose spirit seemed 
to be completely broken by this reverse. By the first of 
January following, the influence of Little Turtle and Buck- 
ongahelas, both of whom saw the folly of further quarrels 
with the United States, and the hopel essness of reliance 
upon England, negotiations for peace were commenced, 
and, in August, (1795,) a grand treaty was concluded at 
Greenville. 



CHAPTER III. 

CONDITION OF THE INDIANS SUBSEQUENT TO THE PEACE THE 

PROPHET ELSKWATAWA TECUMSEH : HIS PLANS AND INTRIGUES 

—general harrison's expedition against the prophet's 

town- — defeat of the indians at tippecanoe war of 

1812— Harrison's invasion of Canada — battle Of 
the thames, and death of tecumseh. 

Nearly ten years of peace succeeded the treaty of 
Greenville, an interval which proved little less destructive 
to the tribes of the north-west than the desolations of their 
last calamitous war. The devastating influence of intem- 
perance was never more fearfully felt than in the experi- 
ence of these Indian nations at the period whose history 




T K C UJU s E //, 



THE DELAWARES, SHAWAXEES, ETC. 



369 



we are now recording. General Harrison, then commis- 
sioner for Indian affairs, reported their condition in the 
following terms: "So destructive has been the progress 
of intemperance among them, that whole villages have 
been swept away. A miserable remnant is all that remains 
to mark the names and situation of many numerous and 
warlike tribes. In the energetic language of one of their 
orators, it is a dreadful conflagration, which spreads misery 
and desolation through their country, and threatens the 
annihilation of the whole race." 

While this deadly evil was constantly increasing, in the 
year 1804, a distinguished Indian orator began to excite a 
wide-spread discontent among the nations of the former 
north-western confederacy. This was the self-styled proph- 
et, Elskwatawa, Olliwayshila, or Olliwachaca. About the 
year 1770, a woman of one of the southern tribes, domes- 
ticated with the Shawanees, according to report, became 
mother to three children at a single birth, who received 
the names of Tecumseh, Elskwatawa, and Kumshaka — 
the last being unknown to fame. Their father, a Shawa- 
nee warrior, perished in the great battle at Point Pleasant. 
By the time that Tecumseh had attained the age of man- 
hood, he had already become noted as a bold and sagacious 
warrior. For years before the overthrow of the Indian 
power by General Wayne, he had been foremost in the 
incursions which spread desolation throughout the western 
settlements ; and when the peace, concluded at Greenville, 
deprived him of a field for warlike enterprise, he only 
retired to brood over new mischief, and, in conjunction 
with his brother, the Prophet, to excite a more extensive 
conspiracy than had, ever before been perfected. 

With consummate art, Elskwatawa exposed the evils 
attendant on the white man's encroachments, exhorting to 
sobriety and a universal union for resistance. He pro- 
claimed himself especially commissioned by the Great 
24 



370 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Spirit to foretell, and to hasten, by his own efforts, the 
destruction of the intruders, and by various appeals to the 
vanity, the superstition, and the spirit of revenge, of his 
auditors, he acquired a strong and enduring influence. 
The chiefs who opposed or ridiculed his pretensions were 
denounced as wizards or sorcerers, and proofs, satisfactory 
to the minds of the Indians, being adduced in support of 
the accusation, numbers perished at the stake, leaving a 
clear field for the operations of the impostor. 

Tecumseh, meanwhile, was not idle. It is said that the 
noted Seneca chief, Eed-Jacket, first counselled him to set 
about the work to which he devoted his life, holding out 
to him the tempting prospect of a recovery of the rich 
and extensive valley of the Mississippi from the posses- 
sion of the whites. Whatever originated the idea in his 
mind, he lent all the powerful energy of his character to 
its accomplishment. The tribes concerned in the proposed 
out-break were mostly the same that had in earlier times 
been aroused by Pontiac, and had again united, under 
Michikinaqua, as we have seen in the preceding chapter. 
The undertaking of Tecumseh and his brother was not of 
easy or speedy accomplishment, but their unwearied efforts 
and high natural endowments gradually gave them both 
an unprecedented ascendancy over the minds of the Indians. 
In 1807, the new movement among the Western Indians 
called for attention on the part of the United States, and 
General, then Governor, Harrison dispatched a message of 
warning and reproach to the leading men of the Shawa- 
nee tribe. The prophet dictated, in reply, a letter, in which 
he denied the charges circulated against him, and strenu- 
ously asserted that nothing was farther from his thoughts 
than any design of creating a disturbance. In the sum- 
mer of the following year this subtle intriguer established 
himself on the Tippecanoe river, a tributary of the Wa- 
bash, in the northern part of the state of Indiana. 



THE DELAWAEESj SHAWANEES, ETC. 



371 



From this place, where he lived surrounded by a crowd 
of admiring followers, the Prophet proceeded shortly after 
to Vincennes, and spent some time in communication with 
Governor Harrison, for the purpose of disarming suspicion. 
He continually insisted that the whole object of his preach- 
ing to the Indians was to persuade them to relinquish their 
vices, and lead sober and peaceable lives; and to this effect 
he often exhorted his people in the presence of the United 
States' government officials. 

In September, of 1809, while Tecumseh was pushing 
his intrigues among various distant tribes, Governor Har- 
rison obtained a cession, for certain stipulated annuities, 
of a large tract of land on the lower portion of the 
Wabash, from the tribes of the Miamis, Delawares, Potta- 
watomies, and Kickapoos. On Tecumseh's return in the 
following year, he, with his brother, made vehement re- 
monstrances against this proceeding, and a somewhat 
stormy interview took place between the great chief and 
Governor Harrison, each party being attended by a pow- 
erful armed force. Upon this occasion, Tecumseh first 
openly avowed his design of forming an universal coali- 
tion of the Indian nations, by which the progress of the 
whites westward should be arrested, but he still insisted 
that it was not his intention to make war. One great 
principle which he endeavored to enforce was that no In- 
dian lands should be sold, except by consent of all the 
confederate tribes. Two d&ys after this conference he 
started for the south, with a few attendant warriors, to 
spread disaffection among the Creeks, Cherokees, and other 
tribes of the southern states. 

In the following year, (18.11,) during the prolonged 
absence of Tecumseh, and contrary, as is supposed, to his 
express instructions, bold and audacious depredations and 
murders were committed by the horde of savages gathered 
at the Prophet's town. Representations were forwarded 



372 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEKICA. 



to Washington of the necessity for active measures in re- 
straint of these outrages, and a regiment, under Colonel 
Boyd, was promptly marched from Pittsburg to Vincennes, 
and placed under the command of Harrison. With this 
force, and a body of militia and volunteers, the whole 
amounting to about nine hundred men, the governor 
marched from Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, for the 
Prophet's town, on the 28th of October. He had previ- 
ously made various attempts, through the intervention of 
some friendly Delaware and Miami chiefs, to bring about 
a negotiation, a restoration of the stolen property, and a 
delivery up of the murderers; but his emissaries were 
treated with contempt and his proposals spurned. 

The march was conducted with the greatest military 
skill. A feint was made of taking up the line of march 
on the south bank of the river; after which, the whole 
army crossed the stream, and hastened towards the hostile 
settlement through the extensive prairies, stretching far- 
ther than the eye could reach toward the west. On the 
5th of November, having met with no opposition on the 
route, Harrison encamped within nine miles of the Proph- 
et's town. Approaching the town on the ensuing day, 
various futile attempts were made to open a conference. 
Menaces and insults were the only reply to these overtures. 
Before the troops reached the town, however, messengers 
from Elskwatawa came forward, proposing a truce, and 
the arrangement for a conference upon the following day. 
The chief averred that he had sent a pacific embassy to 
the governor, but that those charged with the mission had 
gone down the river on the opposite bank, and thus missed 
him. Harrison assented to a cessation of hostilities until 
the next day, but took wise precautions for security against 
a treacherous night attack. 

The suspicions of the prudent general proved to be well- 
founded. The darkness of the night favored the designs 



THE DELA WARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 373 

of the Indians, and, before day-break, about four o'clock, 
the alarm of an attack was given. In the words of one of 
Harrison's biographers: "The treacherous Indians had 
stealthily crept up near our sentries, with the intention of 
rushing upon them and killing them before they could 
give the alarm. But fortunately one of the sentries dis- 
covered an Indian creeping towards him through the grass, 
and fired at him. This was immediately followed by the 
Indian yell, and a furious charge upon the left flank." 

The onset of the Indians, stimulated as they were by 
the assurances of their prophet, that certain success awaited 
them, was unprecedented for fury and determination. 
They numbered from five hundred to a thousand, and 
were led by White Loon, Stone-Eater, and a treacherous 
Pottawatomie chief named Winnemac. The Prophet took, 
personally, no share in the engagement. The struggle con- 
tinued until day-light, when the assailants were driven off 
and dispersed. Great praise has been deservedly awarded 
to the commanding officer of the whites for his steady 
courage and generalship during the trying scenes of this 
night's encounter. The troops, although no small num- 
ber of them were now, for the first time, in active service, 
displayed great firmness and bravery. The Indians im- 
mediately abandoned their town, which the army proceeded 
to destroy, tearing down the fortifications and burning the 
buildings. The object of the expedition being thus fully 
accomplished, the troops were marched back to Yincennes. 

In the battle at Tippecanoe, the loss of the victors was 
probably greater than that of the savages. Thirty-eight 
of the latter were left dead upon the field: of the whites, 
fifty were killed, and nearly one hundred wounded. It is 
not to be supposed that the Prophet's influence maintained 
its former hold upon his followers after this defeat. He 
takes indeed, from this time forward, a place in history 
entirely subordinate to his warlike and powerful brother. 



374 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



An interval of comparative quiet succeeded this over- 
throw of the Prophet's concentrated forces, a quiet des- 
tined to be broken by a far more extensive and disastrous 
war. When open hostilities commenced between England 
and the United States, in 1812, it was at once evident that 
the former country had pursued her old policy of rousing 
up the savages to ravage our defenceless frontier, with 
unprecedented success. Tecumseh proved a more valu- 
able coadjutor, if possible, than Brant had been during 
the revolution, in uniting the different nations against 
the American interests. 

To particularize the part taken by this great warrior 
and statesman in the war, would involve too prolonged a 
description of the various incidents of the western cam- 
paigns. By counsel and persuasion ; by courage in battle ; 
and by the energy of a powerful mind devoted to the cause 
he had espoused, he continued until his death to aid his 
English allies. A strong British fortress at Maiden, on the 
eastern or Canada shore of Detroit river, proved a rendez- 
vous for the hostile Indians, of the utmost danger to the 
inhabitants of the north-western frontier. The place was 
under the command of the British General Proctor ; the 
officer whose infamous neglect or countenance led to the 
massacre of a body of wounded prisoners at Frenchtown, 
on the river Eaisin, in January, 1813. This post was 
abandoned by the British and Indians, about the time of 
the invasion of Canada, in September, of the above year, 
by the American troops under Harrison. The invading 
army encamped at the deserted and dismantled fortress^ 
"from which had issued, for years past, those ruthless 
bands of savages, which had swept so fiercely over our 
extended frontier, leaving death and destruction only in 
their path." 

General Harrison hastened in pursuit of the enemy up 
the Thames river, and, on the 4th of October, encamped a 



THE DELAWAEES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 375 

few miles above tlie forks of the river, and erected a slight 
fortification. On the 5th, the memorable battle of the 
Thames was fought. General Proctor awaited the ap- 
proach of the American forces at a place chosen by himself, 
near Moravian town, as presenting a favorable position for 
a stand. His forces, in regulars and Indians, rather out- 
numbered those of his opponents, being set down at two 
thousand eight hundred ; the Americans numbered twenty- 
five hundred, mostly militia and volunteers. The British 
army "was flanked, on the left, by the river Thames, and 
supported by artillery, and on the right by two extensive 
swamps, running nearly parallel to the river, and occupied 
by a strong body of Indians. * * The Indians were 
commanded by Tecumseh in person." 

The British line was broken by the first charge of Colonel 
Johnson's mounted regiment, and being thrown into irre- 
trievable disorder, the troops were unable to rally, or 
oppose any further effective resistance. Nearly the whole 
army surrendered at discretion. Proctor, with a few com- 
panions, effected his escape. The Indians, protected by 
the covert where they were posted, were not so easily dis- 
lodged. They maintained their position until after the 
defeat of their English associates and the death of their 
brave leader. By whose hand Tecumseh fell, does not 
appear to be decisively settled; but, according to the or- 
dinarily received account, he was rushing upon Colonel 
Johnson, with his tomahawk, when the latter shot him 
dead with a pistol. 

This battle was, in effect, the conclusion of the north- 
western Indian war. Deputations from various tribes 
appeared suing for peace; and during this and the ensuing 
year, when Generals Harrison and Cass, with Governor 
Shelby, were appointed commissioners to treat with the 
North-western tribes, important treaties were effected. 
Tecumseh was buried near the field of battle, and a 



376 



mound still marks Ms grave. The British government, 
not unmindful of his services, granted a pension to his 
widow and family, as well as fco the Prophet Elskwatawa. 



CHAPTER IV, 

ACQUISITION AND SALE, BY THE DOTTED STATES, OF INDIAN LANDS 
IN ILLINOIS— BLACK-HAWK— THE SACS BEHOVED WEST OF THE 
MISSISSIPPI— RETURN OF BLACK-HAWK AND HIS FOLLOW- 

ERS DEFEAT OF MAJOR STILLMAN THE HOSTILE 

INDIANS PURSUED BY ATKINSON AND DODGE 

THEIR DEFEAT ON THE BANK OF THE MISSIS- 
SIPPI — black-hawk's surrender 

HE IS TAKEN TO WASHINGTON — 1 
HIS SUBSEQUENT CAREER. 

With the rapid increase of a white population between 
the Lakes and the Mississippi, which followed the con- 
clusion of hostilities with England and her Indian allies, 
new difficulties began to arise between the natives and 
the^ settlers. Illinois and Wisconsin were inhabited by 
various tribes of Indians, upon terms of bitter hostility 
among themselves, but united in their suspicions and 
apprehensions at the unprecedented inroads of emigrants 
from the east. 



The Wmnebagos, dwelling in Wisconsin : the Pottawat- 
omies, situated around the southern extremity of Lake 
Michigan; and the Sacs, (afterwards mingled with the 
Foxes, and usually coupled with that tribe,) of Illinois 
principally located upon Eock river, were the most con- 
siderable of these north-western tribes. By various ces- 
sions, the United States acquired in the early part of the 
present century, a title to extensive tracts of country, lying 
east of the Mississippi, and included in the present state of 



THE DEL AWAKES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



377 



Illinois. The tribes who sold the land were divided in 
| opinion ; great numbers of the occupants of the soil were 
utterly opposed to its alienation, and denied the authority 
of the chiefs, by whose negotiation the sales or cessions 
were effected; and upon the parcelling out and the sale 
by the United States government of this public property 
to private individuals, conflicting claims soon led to serious 
disturbances. 

In July, of 1830, a treaty was formed at Prairie du 
Chien, between United States commissioners and the tribes 
of the Iowas, Sioux, Omawhas, Sacs and Foxes, &c, for the 
purpose of finally arranging the terms upon which the 
lands east of the Mississippi should be yielded up. The 
Sac chief, Keokuk, was present, and assenting to the ar- 
j rangement in behalf of his people; but a strong party, 
headed by the celebrated Black-Hawk, utterly refused to 
I abide by it. This chief was then between sixty and seventy 
I years of age, and had been, from early youth, a noted 
> warrior. He was born at some Indian settlement upon 
| the Bock river, and retained through life a strong attach- 
ment to the place of his nativity and the stream upon 
' whose banks he so long resided. He was a Pottawatomie, 
but his whole life was spent among the Sacs. 

To enforce the removal of the Sacs from tfreir villages, 
| on Rock river, General Gaines visited that locality in 
June, 1831. He proceeded up the river in a steamer, with 
| several pieces of artillery and two companies of infantry. 
The general spoke of his visit as follows: "Their village 
is immediately on Rock river, and so situated that I could, 
from the steam-boat, destroy all their bark houses, (the 
only kind of houses they have,) in a few minutes, with the 
force now with me, probably without the loss of a man. 
But I am resolved to abstain from firing a shot without 
some bloodshed, or some manifest attempt to shed blood, 
on the part of the Indians. I have already induced nearly 



378 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



one-third of them to cross the Mississippi to their own 
land. The residue, however, say, as the friendly chiefs 
report, that they never will move ; and, what is very un- 
common, the women urge their hostile husbands to fight 
rather than to move, and thus abandon their homes." 

Before the close of the month the forces of the United 
States and the state militia took possession of the settle- 
ment. The Indians made no attempt at resistance, and 
betook themselves to the western bank of the Mississippi. 
In the spring of the following year, the Sacs began to 
straggle back to their old towns in Illinois; and Black- 
Hawk, with a considerable force of his warriors, marched 
up Bock river, with the avowed intent of spending the 
summer, and raising a supply of corn among the Pottawa- 
tomies, in accordance with an invitation from that tribe. 
He proceeded quietly and peaceably up the river, offering 
no violence to either the persons or property of the white 
inhabitants. A body of mounted militia, under Major 
Stillman, set out in pursuit of the Indians about the middle 
of May. On their approach to his temporary quarters, 
Black- Hawk sent a number of his followers to meet and 
confer with the commanding officer; but it so happened, 
either through mistake as to their intentions, or from a 
reckless dej^ravity on the part of certain of the whites, 
that several of these emissaries were killed. 

Boused by this injurious treatment, the Indian chief I 
prepared to fall upon his pursuers at a point where an 
ambuscade could be rendered most effective. It is said 
that when the militia came up, he had but about forty 
warriors with him, (the rest of his men being off in pursuit 
of game,) while the whites numbered no less than two 
hundred and seventy ! As these undisciplined troops were 
crossing Sycamore creek, in entire disorder, and without 
any precaution against a surprise, they were fiercely at- 
tacked by the Indians. The rout was complete: unable 



THE DELAWARES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 



379 



to form, or to offer any effectual resistance, the whites 
were driven off, leaving eleven of their number dead upon 
the field. As they again rendezvoused at Dixon's Ferry, 
thirty miles below, they gave the most extravagant accounts 
of the numbers of the enemy. 

Great excitement- was produced by this skirmish, and a 
large army of militia was called into service by Governor 
Eeynolds, and ordered to meet by the 10th of June, at 
Hennepin, in Putnam county, on the Illinois. Agents 
were sent to confirm the good- will of the Winnebagos, 
and other tribes, and the services of several hundred of 
the Menomonies and Sioux were enlisted against the dan- 
gerous intruders. 

Black-Hawk and his party, feeling themselves now 
fully committed, were not slow in following up the ad- 
vantage gained by the terror inspired by the engagement 
at Sycamore Creek. 

Between the breaking out of the war and the beginning 
of the month of August the Indians committed many 
murders, and various skirmishes took place between them 
and the troops sent in pursuit. On the 20th of May, a lit- 
tle settlement on Indian Creek was plundered. Fifteen 
of the inhabitants were killed, and two young girls, by 
the name of Hall, one sixteen and the other eighteen 
years of age, were carried into captivity. According to 
the almost universal custom of the North American In- 
dians, these female prisoners were not exposed to the 
slightest insult or outrage, but were as well cared for as 
circumstances would allow. They were afterwards ran- 
somed, at a large price, and returned to their friends. 

Little mercy was shown to any of Black-Hawk's follow- 
ers upon any occasion of success on the part of the whites. 
Five persons were killed near Galena on the 14th of June, 
and, shortly after, twelve Indians, supposed to be connected 
with the attacking party, were pursued and driven into a 



380 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



neighboring swamp. When overtaken, although they 
made no resistance, they were every one killed and scalped 
by the whites. 

The condition of Black-Hawk and his band grew daily 
more miserable, from destitution, exposure, and starvation. 
An end would speedily have been put to their operations, 
but for that terrible disease, the cholera, by which the 
United States troops, on their route from the east to the 
scene of action, were almost wholly disabled. 

Driven from his encampment at the Four Lakes by the 
approach of General Atkinson, Black-Hawk retreated 
down the Wisconsin, expecting to find provisions and as- 
sistance among the Indians in that direction. General 
Dodge, with a strong force of militia, followed close on his 
trail. He came up with the fugitives on the 21st of July. 
The Indians were about crossing the river when they were 
attacked, and, but for the coming on of night, could hardly 
have escaped entire destruction or capture. They lost in 
the encounter not far from forty men. 

The discomfited savages continued their flight down 
the river in their boats, beset on every side by enemies, 
and with an overwhelming force— Dodge's army having 
been joined by Atkinson and his troops in hot pursuit 
"Some of the boats," says Drake, "conveying- these poor 
wretches, were overset, and many of those in them drowned; 
the greater number, however, fell into the hands of their 
enemies in their passage. Many of the children were 
found to be in such a famished state that they could not 
be revived." 

Having reached the mouth of the river, on the first of 
August, Black-Hawk prepared to cross the Mississippi, but 
was prevented by a force on board the steam-boat Warrior. 
He "did not wish to fight, but to escape; and when the 
steam-boat fell in with him, he used every means to give 
the captain of her to understand that he desired to surren- 



THE DELAWAKES, SHAWANEES, ETC. 381 

der. He displayed two white flags, and about one hundred 
and fifty of his men approached the river without arms, 
and made signs of submission." The only reply was a 
discharge of canister and musketry from the boat, which 
was returned from the shore. After about an hour's 
firing, which resulted in the destruction of more than 
twenty of the Indians, the boat moved off to procure a 
supply of wood. 

Next morning General Atkinson, with the whole force 
in pursuit, (sixteen hundred men) came up with the rem- 
nant of the enemy. Eetreat was cut off on every side, 
and the half-starved and dispirited savages were shot and 
cut down at the pleasure of the irresistible numbers who 
surrounded them. The following is extracted from an 
account published shortly after this decisive and final en- 
gagement. "The battle lasted upwards of three hours. 
About fifty of the enemy's women and children were taken 
prisoners, and many, by accident, in the battle, were kill- 
ed. When the Indians were driven to the bank of the 
Mississippi, some hundreds of men, women, and children, 
plunged into the river, and hoped, by diving, &c, to escape 
the bullets of our guns ; very few, however, escaped our 
sharp-shooters." 

Historians generally speak of an action in which the 
Indians prove successful as a "massacre," but the above- 
described proceeding is dignified by the name of a battle! 
Black-Hawk, who, with a few followers, managed to effect 
his escape, afterwards declared that, upon the approach 
of the American army, he and his warriors made no 
attempt at resistance, offering to surrender themselves un- 
conditionally, and that they only used their arms when it 
was apparent that the successful pursuers had no intention 
of showing quarter. It is hard to decide upon the true 
state of the case. 

His cause now being palpably hopeless, and most of his 



382 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



remaining warriors having yielded themselves prisoners, 
or been taken by the various bands of Indians friendly to 
the whites, Black-Hawk surrendered himself at Prairie du 
Chien, on the 27th of August. With several other chiefs 
he was taken to Washington, and after holding conference 
with President Jackson, was confined, for a period, at Fort 
Monroe, on an island near Old Point Comfort, on the Chesa- 
peake. Here the captive warriors were well and kindly 
treated, and in June, of the ensuing year (1833), there be- 
ing no longer any necessity for detaining them as hostages, 
they were set at liberty. 

Before returning to the west, these chiefs visited several 
of the principal eastern cities, and were every where re- 
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm and interest. They 
were shown the fortifications, navy-yards, &c, and every 
effort was made to impress them with the irresistible power 
of the government. They were afterwards escorted back 
to their homes at the west, and dismissed with valuable 
presents and tokens of good- will. 

Black-Hawk lived thenceforth in peace with the whites. 
He settled upon the Des Moines river, where he died in 
1838. The body of the old warrior, in accordance with 
his own wishes, expressed shortly before his death, was 
disposed in Indian style. According to Drake : " No grave 
was made; but his body was placed in a sitting position, 
with his cane between his knees and grasped in his hands; 
slabs or rails were then piled up about him. Such was the 
end of Black- Hawk. Here, however, his bones did not 
long rest in peace, but they were stolen from their place of 
deposit some time in the following winter; but about a year 
after, it was discovered that they were in possession of a 
surgeon, of Quincy, Illinois, to whom some person had 
sent them to be wired together. When Governor Lucas 
of Iowa, became acquainted with the facts, they were, by 
his requisition, restored to his friends." 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY LOCATION, NUMBERS, CHARACTER, ETC., OF THE CATAWBAS J 
OF THE UPPER AND LOWER CHEROKEES ; OF THE MUSCOGEES 

OR CREEKS ; OF THE CHOCTAWS ; OF THE CHICKASAWS 

FRENCH WAR WITH THE NATCHEZ AND CHICKASAWS. 

We shall not undertake to assign definite boundaries to 
the several tracts of country occupied by the extensive tribes 
of the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Catawbas, 
Uchees, &c, nor to pursue their history, separately. There 
are no sufficient distinctions in their general habits and 
character to render such a detail necessary, and as they 
were nearly all more or less affected by the same political 
events and changes, they can be best considered collec- 
tively. The name of Creeks, (an English term, taken 
from the character of the country they inhabited,) has been 
applied to all the tribes above mentioned. 

James Adair, a trader and resident among the Southern 
Indians for forty years, in his History of the American 
Indians, published in 1775, gives the most complete ac- 
count of these races to be found in the early writers. The 
principal portion of his book is devoted to a labored dis- 
quisition upon the origin of the red men, and arguments 
to prove their descent from the Jews : the rest consists of 
separate details of the manners and history of the southern 
tribes, with observations and anecdotes connected with the 
race in general. 



384 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



He commences with the Catawbas, who then dwelt be- 
tween the Carolinas and the country of the Cherokees. 
By intercourse with the whites, they had become more 
degraded than the other nations of which we are now 
to speak, and drunkenness, indolence, and poverty were 
obviously prevalent. They were a numerous and warlike 
people when South Carolina was first settled, mustering 
about fifteen hundred warriors; but small-pox and the use 
of ardent spirits had, at this time, reduced them to less 
than one-tenth of their former numbers. 

They were old enemies of the Iroquois, with whom they 
had waged long and savage wars : with the English they 
had generally been upon good terms. Adair describes an 
old waste field, seven miles in extent, as one of the evi- 
dences of their former prosperity, when they could " cul- 
tivate so much land with their dull stone-axes." Of these, 
as of other Indians, he says: "By some fatality they are 
much addicted to excessive drinking; and spirituous li- 
quors distract them so exceedingly, that they will even 
eat live coals of fire." 

The Upper Cherokees inhabited the high and mountain- 
ous region of the Appalachian range, and that upon the 
upper portions of the Tennessee. The Lower tribe occu- 
pied the country around the head waters of the Savannah 
and Chatahoochee, to the northward of the Muscogees 
or Creeks proper. When Adair first became acquainted 
with the Cherokees, about the year 1735, they were com- 
puted by old traders to number six thousand fighting men. 
They had sixty-four populous towns. In 1738, nearlv 
half of them perished by the small-pox. 

Like all the other untaught nations • of America, they 
were driven to perfect desperation by the ravages of this 
disease. The cause to which they ascribed it, and the 
strange remedies and enchantments used to stay its progress, 
are alike remarkable. One course was to plunge the 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



385 



! patients into cold running water — (it is elsewhere men- 
: tioned that those afflicted will frequently leap into the 
I river themselves to allay the fever and torment) — the re- 
j suit of which operation was speedily fatal. " A great many 
killed themselves; for, being naturally proud, they are 
i always peeping into their looking-glasses. — By which 
| means, seeing themselves disfigured, without hope of re- 
j j gaining their former beauty, some shot themselves, others 
j cut their throats, some stabbed themselves with knives, and 
others with sharp-pointed canes ; many threw themselves 
with sullen madness into the fire, and there slowly ex- 
pired, as if they had been utterly divested of the native 
power of feeling pain." One of them, when his friends 
j had restrained these frantic efforts, and deprived him of 
his weapons, went out, and taking "a thick and round 
j hoe-helve, fixed one end of it in the ground, and repeat- 
! edly threw himself on it till he forced it down his throat! 
| when he immediately expired." 

These tribes were formerly continually at war with the 
| ' Six Nations, at the north, and with the Muscogees at the 
| . south ; but previous to their war with the English colonies 
they had been for some time comparatively at peace, and 
i j were in a thriving and prosperous condition. They were 
1 1 excellently well supplied with horses, and were ''skillful 
! | jockies, and nice in their choice." 

The lower settlement of the Muscogees or Creeks, was 
j ! in the country watered by the Chatahoochee and Flint ; 

the upper Creeks dwelt about the head waters of the 
j | Mobile and Alabama rivers. Their neighbors, on the 
| j west, were the Choctaws and Chickasaws. 

The Creeks were a nation formed by the union of a 
number of minor tribes with the Muscogees, who constituted 
the nucleus of the combination. About the middle of the 
; j eighteenth century, they were computed to number no 
less than three thousand five hundred men capable of 
25 



386 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



bearing arms. They had learned the necessity of seclud- 
ing those infected with the small-pox, so as to avoid the 
spread of the contagion, and their general habits and 
usages were such that they were fast increasing, instead 
of diminishing, like all the surrounding tribes. 

While the Floridas were in the possession of Spain, the 
Creeks were surrounded by belligerent powers, both native 
and European, and they appear to have adopted a very 
shrewd and artful policy in their intercourse with each. 
There was a French garrison in their country; the English 
settlements lay to the north and east, and those of the 
Spaniards to the south; and the old sages of the tribe 
"being long informed by the opposite parties of the dif- 
ferent views and intrigues of those foreign powers, who 
paid them annual tribute under the vague appellation of 
presents, were become surprisingly crafty in every turn 
of low politics." The French were very successful in their 
efforts to conciliate the good-will of the Muscogees, and in 
alienating them from the English. 

The country of the Choctaws extended from that of the 
Muscogees to the Mississippi, reaching northward to the 
boundaries of the Chickasaws: their lower towns on the 
river were about two hundred miles north of New Or- 
leans. Adair gives these people a very bad character, as 
being treacherous, dishonest, ungrateful, and unscrupulous ; 
but he bears witness to their admirable readiness of speech 
They were "ready-witted, and endued with a surprising 
flow of smooth, artful language on every subject within 
the reach of their ideas." 

The strange custom of flattening the head, prevalent 
among some other American tribes, obtained with the 
Choctaws. The operation was performed by the weight 
of a bag of sand kept upon the foreheads of the infants be- 
fore the skull had hardened. This process not improbably 
affected the powers of the mind: at all events, Adair says: 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



387 



"their features and mind exactly correspond together; 
for, except the intense love they bear to their native coun- 
try, and their utter contempt of any kind of danger in 
defence of it, I know no other virtue they are possessed 
of: the general observation of the traders among them is 
just, who affirm them to be divested of every property of 
a human being, except shape and language." 

The French had acquired great influence over the Choc ■ 
taws, as, indeed, over nearly every tribe in North America 
with whom they had maintained friendly intercourse. 
Adair enlarges upon the artful policy with which they 
conciliated and bribed the leaders and orators of the nation. 
Besides this, he says: "the masterly skill of the French 
enabled them to do more with those savages, with trifles, 
than all our experienced managers of Indian affairs have 
been able to effect by the great quantities of valuable 
goods they gave them with a very profuse hand. The 
former bestowed their small favors with exquisite wisdom ; 
and their value was exceedingly enhanced by the external 
kindly behavior and well-adapted smooth address of the 
giver." 

The nation of the Chickasaws, at the time of which we 
are speaking, was settled near the sources of the Tombigbee, 
a few miles eastward of the head waters of the Tallahache. 
They numbered about four hundred and fifty warriors, 
but were greatly reduced since their ancient emigration 
from the west. They were said to have formerly consti- 
tuted one family with the Choctaws, and to have been 
able to bring one thousand men into the field at the time 
of their removal. Due allowance must of course be made 
for mistake and exaggeration in these early traditions. 

The Chickasaws were ever inimical to the French and 
friendly to the English colonists. It was by their efforts 
that the neighboring tribe of the Natchez was stirred up 
to attack the French settlements, in 1729. The French 



388 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

had, unadvisedly, imposed a species of tax upon the 
Natchez, demanding a dressed buck-skin from each man 
of the tribe, without rendering any return ; but, as some 
of that people afterwards reported to Adair, "the warriors' 
hearts grew very cross, and loved the deer-skins." 

The Chickasaws were not slow to foment a disturbance 
upon intelligence of this proceeding, and sent messengers, 
with presents of pipes and tobacco, to counsel an attack 
upon the exercisers of such tyranny. Nothing so strongly 
excites an Indian's indignation as any attempt at taxation, 
and the Natchez were easily persuaded that the French had 
resolved to crush and enslave them. It took about a year to 
ripen the plot, as the Indians are "slow in their councils on 
things of great importance, though equally close and intent." 

It was in the month of November, (1729,) that the In- 
dians fell upon the French settlement. The commandant 
had received some intimation of the intended attack from 
a woman of the tribe, but did not place sufficient depend- 
ence upon it to take any efficient steps for the protection 
of his charge. The whole colony was massacred: men, 
women and children, to the number of over seven hun- 
dred — Adair says fifteen hundred — perished by the weap- 
ons of the savages. The triumph of the Natchez was, 
however, but of short duration. The French came upon 
them in the following summer with a large army, consisting 
of two thousand of their own soldiers and a great array of 
their Choctaw allies. The Natchez were posted at a strong 
fort near a lake communicating with the Bayou D' Argent, 
and received the assailants with great resolution and cour- 
age. They made a vigorous sally, as the enemy approach- 
ed, but were driven within their defences, ajid "bombarded 
with three mortars, which forced them to fry off different 
ways." The Choctaws took many prisoners, some of whom 
were tortured to death, and the rest shipped to the "West 
Indies as slaves. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEEN STATES. 



389 



The remnant of the Natchez fled for safety to the Chicka- 
saws. This brought about a war between the French and 
the last-mentioned tribe, in which, if we may believe 
Adair, the Indians had decidedly the advantage. He tells 
of one engagement, in which the French and their Indian 
allies had surrounded the Chickasaw settlements in the 
night, with the exception of one, which stood at some dis- 
tance from the rest, called Amalahta. The besiegers beset 
every house, and killed all who came out: "but at the 
dawn of day, when they were capering and using those 
flourishes that are peculiar to that volatile nation, the other 
town drew round them, stark naked, and painted all over 
red and black; thus they attacked them, killed numbers 
on the spot, released their brethren, who joined them like 
enraged lions." The Indians belonging to the French 
party fled, but the whites were all killed except two, " an 
officer, and a negroe, who faithfully held his horse till he 
mounted, and then ran along side of him. A couple of 
swift runners were sent after them, who soon came up 
with them, and told them to live and go home, and inform 
their people, that as the Chickasah hogs had now a plenty 
of ugly French carcases to feed on till next year, they 
hoped then to have another visit from them and their red 
friends; and that, as messengers, they wished them safe 
home." 

On another occasion, the same historian informs us that 
the French approached the Chickasaw stockade, strangely 
disguised, and protected from the balls of the enemy by 
paddings of wool. The Indians were to the last degree 
astonished both at their appearance and invulnerability, 
and were about to desist from active resistance, and resort 
to the skill of their own necromancers to oppose what 
they thought must be "wizards, or old French-men carry- 
ing the ark of war against them." As the enemy ap- 
proached, and began to throw hand-grenades into the fort, 



890 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



they were quickly undeceived, and set in earnest about 
the work of defence. They pulled the matches out of the 
grenades, or threw them back among the French; and, sal- 
lying forth, directed an effective fire at the legs of the 
enemy, who were speedily driven off. "I have two of 
these shells," says Adair, "which I keep with veneration, 
as speaking trophies over the boasting Monsieurs and 
their bloody schemes." 



CHAPTER II. 

COLONIZATION OF GEORGIA — EARLY INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES 
— -TOMOCHICHI INTRIGUES OF THE REVEREND THOMAS BOSOM- 
WORTH CHEROKEE WAR OF 1759 ATTA KULLAKULLA AND 

OCCONOSTOTA MURDER OF INDIAN HOSTAGES COLONEL 

Montgomery's expedition — destruction of the east- 
ern CHEROKEE TOWNS BATTLE NEAR ETCHOE CA- 
PITULATION AT FORT LOUDON INDIAN TREACHERY 

—CAMPAIGN OF COLONEL GRANT, AND COMPLETE 
REDUCTION OF THE CHEROKEES. 

When the little colony of one hundred and fourteen 
souls, under the guidance of James Edward Oglethorpe, 
commenced the settlement of Georgia, in the winter of 
1733, the upper and lower Creeks laid claim to the whole 
territory south-west of the Savannah. The only natives 
residing in the vicinity— at Yamacraw — were peaceably 
disposed towards the settlers, but the governor of the in- 
fant colony thought it advisable to put himself upon safe 
grounds as respected the Indian claims. He therefore 
secured the services of a half-breed woman, named Mary 
Musgrove, who could speak English, and, by her media- 
tion, brought about a conference with the chiefs, of the 
tribe at Savannah, the seat of the new settlement. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



391 



Mary had formerly married a white trader from Caro- 
lina. Besides her usefulness as an interpreter, she had 
such influence over her tribe, that Oglethorpe thought it 
worth his while to purchase her services at the rate of one 
hundred pounds a year. She became afterwards, as we 
shall see, a source of no little danger and annoyance to 
the English. 

Fifty chiefs of the Creek nation were assembled at the 
place of conference, and Tomochichi, the most noted 
among those then known to the settlers, made an amica- 
ble speech, proffering at the same time a present of a 
buffalo-skin, adorned with eagles' feathers. A treaty was 
concluded, subject to the ratification of the English crown, 
by virtue of which the Indians were to consider them- 
selves the subjects of the king, and to live in peace and 
friendship with his white colonists. The lands lying be- 
tween the Savannah and Altamaha, were made over to the 
English, with all the islands on that coast, except St. Catha- 
rine's and two others, which were reserved for the use of 
the Indians as bathing and fishing stations. A tract was 
also set apart for them to encamp upon when they visited 
their white friends, a little above the Yamacraw bluff, 
where Savannah now stands. Various other stipulations, 
respecting terms of trade, the punishment of offences, &c, 
were entered into, to the satisfaction of both parties. 

In April, 1734, Oglethorpe took Tomochichi, his queen, 
and several other Indians with him to England. They 
were presented to the king, and every pains was taken to 
produce a strong impression upon their minds of the 
English power and magnificence. All the Indians with 
whom the first governor of Georgia held intercourse seem 
to have formed a great attachment for him, styling him their 
1 ' beloved man." If others in authority among the English 
colonies had pursued as honest a course towards the natives, 
much bloodshed would doubtless have been averted. 



392 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



When difficulties arose in 1738, connected with the con- 
flicting claims of England and Spain to jurisdiction over 
the new country, Spanish agents were dispatched to win 
over the Creeks. They decoyed a body of them to Au- 
gustine, by pretences that Oglethorpe was there, and that 
he was desirous of seeing them. On their arrival, the 
Indians were told that the English governor was sick on 
board one of the ships; but they had begun to suspect 
deception, and, refusing to go out to the vessel, left the 
town in great disgust. Their suspicions were confirmed 
when they reached home, and the transaction only strength- 
ened their dislike to the Spaniards. 

In the following year, Oglethorpe attended a great as- 
sembly of Creeks, Cherokees, and Chickasaws, at the 
Coweta town, several hundred miles from Frederica, and 
confirmed their good- will towards the English by presents, 
and friendly communion. He smoked the calumet with 
the chiefs, and solemnly renewed the original treaty of 
amity and mutual protection. This year old Tomochichi 
died, not far from Yamacraw, expressing to the last his 
love for his first English patron, and urging upon his 
people the policy of maintaining their place in his good- 
will. The chief was nearly ninety-seven years of age. 

The year 1749 was memorable for a most . audacious 
attempt on the part of one Thomas Bosomworth to ag- 
grandize himself by attaining a supremacy over the Creeks. 
He had been formerly a chaplain in Oglethorpe's regiment, 
and had married Mary Musgrove, his half-breed interpre- 
ter. In December, of 1747, this man fell in with a com- 
pany of chiefs, belonging to the nation, then on a visit to 
Frederica; and persuaded them to sign certain articles, 
acknowledging one of their number, named Malatche 
Opiya Meco, as rightful king over the whole Creek nation. 
Bosomworth then procured from Malatche a conveyance, 
for certain considerations—among other things, a large 



THE E.I G L E . 

This noble bird, various species of which are found in America, was considered by 
the Indians, no less than by our own poets and writers, a fitting type of swiftness, strength, 
and proud superiority. His feathers constituted a kingly ornament, and were held worthy 
gifts at the ratification of important treaties. The old chief Tomochichi, when introduced 
to King George II., profferred several eagles' feathers to the monarch, with the remark: 
-These are the feathers of the eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and who tlieth ail 
round ->ur nations. These feathers are a sign of peace in our land, and we have brought 
them over to leave .neni with you, great king, as a sign of everlasting peace." 



/ JV D I A JV SETTLEMENT. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



393 



quantity of ammunition and clothing,— of the islands 
formerly reserved by the Indians, to himself and his wife 
Mary, their heirs and assigns, "as long as the sun shall 
shine, or the waters run in the rivers, forever." This deed 
was regularly witnessed, proved before a justice of the 
peace, and recorded in due form. Bosomworth made 
some efforts to stock and improve these islands, but, his 
ambition becoming aroused by success in his first intrigue, 
he entered upon one much more extensive. By his per- 
suasions, his wife now made the extraordinary claim that 
she was Malatche's elder sister, and entitled to regal au- 
thority over the whole Creek territory. 

A great meeting of the tribe was procured, and, what- 
ever of truth Mary's claims might be founded upon, she 
appears to have succeeded in persuading large numbers 
of the Creeks to espouse her cause, and acknowledge her 
as an independent queen. Accompanied by a strong force 
of her adherents, she proceeded incontinently to Savannah, 
sending emissaries before her to demand a surrender of 
all lands south of the Savannah river, and to make known 
her intention of enforcing her claim by the entire destruc- 
tion of the colony, should her demands be resisted. 

The militia were called out by the president and council, 
and the Indians were kept quiet by a display of confidence 
and firmness, that matters might be fully discussed by 
their leaders and the colonial authorities. "Bosomworth," 
says McCall, "in his canonical robes, with his queen by 
His side, followed by the kings and chiefs, according to 
rank, marched into the town on the 20th of July, making 
a most formidable appearance. — The inhabitants were 
struck with terror at the sight of this ferocious tribe of 
savages." 

Lengthy discussions ensued, between Bosomworth and 
Mary on the one hand, and the president and council on 
the other. The fickle and impressible savages leaned 



894 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



alternately to either opinion according as they were har- 
angued by their new leaders, or listened to the explanations 
of the other party. They were told that Mary's claims to 
royal descent were entirely false ; that she was the daughter 
of a white man by a squaw of no note, and that the mad 
ambition of her reprobate husband had led to the whole 
movement. They expressed themselves convinced, but 
no sooner had Mary obtained another opportunity to com- 
municate with them, than she succeeded in inflaming and 
bewildering their minds. It was found necessary to con- 
fine her and her husband before the savages could be 
quietly dispersed. 

Before this was accomplished, the town was in a situation 
of the most imminent danger, as the Indians vastly out- 
numbered the whites; and a very slight matter might 
have so roused their fury that the whole colony would 
have been annihilated. The intriguing chaplain had a 
brother, Adam Bosomworth, agent for Indian affairs in 
Carolina, who afterwards espoused his interests, so far as the 
claim to the islands of St. Catharine, Ossabaw, and Sapelo 
was concerned. This coadjutor visited the Creek nation, 
procured a new conveyance, and prosecuted the claim 
before the courts of Great Britain. The case proved almost 
as tedious and complex as that of the celebrated Mohegan 
land question in Connecticut. Bosomworth and his wife 
obtained a decision in their favor, in 1759, by virtue of 
which they took possession of St. Catharine's island, and 
resided upon it the remainder of their lives. Ossabaw and 
Sapelo were decreed to be sold for the benefit of the suc- 
cessful parties, but further litigation arose from the claims 
of one Isaac Levy, to whom they had sold, as was asserted, 
a moiety of that portion of the grant. 

The breaking out of the Cherokee war, in the winter of 
this year, (1759,) is the next event of special interest, con- 
nected with the affairs of the Southern Indians. They 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEKN STATES. 



395 



seem generally to have been peaceably disposed, and hon- 
est in the fulfillment of their national engagements, and 
probably would have continued so, had they met with fair 
treatment at the hands of the English colonists. Parties 
of Cherokees, under British commanders, had been engaged 
with the English in campaigns against the French fortifi- 
cations at the west. Upon the evacuation of Fort Du- 
quesne, numbers of these Indian warriors, whose services 
were no longer required, set out upon their return home. 
Having been ill-supplied with provisions, and having lost 
their horses, some of them caught and availed themselves 
of such of those animals as they found loose in the woods. 
In revenge for this theft, the German settlers of Virginia 
fell upon them, and murdered and scalped a considerable 
number. They even imitated, in several instances, the 
horrible cruelties of the savages in the manner of butch- 
ery — at least, so says Adair, who further reports, that 
"those murderers were so audacious as to impose the 
scalps on the government for those of French Indians; 
and that they actually obtained the premium allowed at 
that time by law in such a case." 

The Cherokees did not, for a long time, attempt any 
retaliation for this act, but made peaceable applications to 
the authorities of Virginia and the Carolinas ; but all was 
in vain, and fresh insults and injuries, received from cer- 
tain officers at Fort St. George, finally excited the nation 
to fury. Adair says truly: "When the Indians find no 
redress of grievances, they never fail to redress themselves, 
either sooner or later. But when they begin, they do not 
know where to end. Their thirst for the blood of their 
reputed enemies is not to be quenched with a few drops. 
The more they drink, the more it inflames their thirst. 
When they dip their finger in human blood, they are rest- 
less till they plunge themselves in it." 

The French, and, at their instance, the Muscogees, were 



396 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



not slow in availing themselves of the above circumstan- 
ces to stir up a war against the English. The Cherokees 
determined upon direct retaliation for the massacres by 
the Germans. A party, bound on this errand, first killed 
two soldiers near Fort Loudon, on the south bank of Ten- 
nessee river, and afterwards spread themselves among the 
western settlements of Forth Carolina, killing such of the 
whites as fell in their power. It was their first intention 
to take scalps only equal in number to that of their mur- 
dered kinsmen, but, once having their hand in, they could 
not resist the temptation of going much farther. "Soon 
after they returned home, they killed a reprobate old 
trader." 

The young warriors, now thoroughly roused and excited, 
would listen to no proposals of restraint: "Nothing but 
war-songs and war-dances could please them, during this 
flattering period of becoming great warriors, 'by killing 
swarms of white dung-hill fowls, in the corn-fields, and 
asleep,' according to their war-phrase." 

m William H. Lyttleton, governor of South Carolina, set 
himself strenuously both to prepare for the defence of 
the colonies, and to bring about an adjustment of difficult- 
ies. At Fort St. George, on the Savannah, he held a con- 
ference with six Cherokee chiefs, on the 26th of December 
(1759), and formed a treaty of peace, secured by the de- 
livery of thirty-two Indian hostages. These were placed 
in close confinement in a small and miserable hut, and the 
governor returned to Charleston. 

According to the usual course of events, the Cherokees 
denied the authority of the chiefs who had concluded the 
above treaty, and hostilities broke out afresh. The two 
most celebrated chiefs and leaders among them, at this 
time, were old Attakullakulla, a promoter of peace, and 
long the fast friend of the English, and Occonostota, a 
noted war-chief. Captain Coytmore, commandant at Fort 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



397 



George, was an object of the bitterest hatred on the part 
of the Indians, and a large body of them, led by Occonos- 
tota, besieged the fort in February of 1760. 

The place was too strong to be taken by assault, but the 
Indian chief managed to entice Coytmore out of the de- 
fences into an ambush, where he was shot dead, and lieu- 
tenants Bell and Foster, who accompanied him, were 
wounded. The hostages who were confined within the 
works, shouted to encourage their friends without, and 
when an attempt was made to put them in irons, resisted 
manfully, stabbing one soldier, and wounding two others. 
Upon this, a hole was cut in the roof over their heads, 
and the cowardly garrison butchered them by shooting 
down from above. 

This war now commenced in earnest, and Indian ravages 
extended far and wide upon the frontier. Troops were 
ordered from New York by General Amherst, commander- 
in-chief of the British forces in America ; and the neigh- 
boring colonies appropriated liberal sums for the purpose 
of buying the aid of the Creeks, Chickasaws, and Catawbas. 

Colonel Montgomery reached Carolina in April, (1760,) 
and hastened, in command of the regulars and provincials, 
to make an effective inroad upon the hostile Indians. His 
progress through the lower Cherokee country was marked 
by the entire destruction of the Indian towns. The first 
place attacked, called Keowee, was surrounded, and the 
men of the town were put to the sword. Estatoe, con- 
taining two hundred houses, with great quantities of pro- 
visions, was entirely destroyed ; but the inhabitants were 
saved by a timely flight. "Every other settlement east of 
the Blue Ridge," says McCall, "afterwards shared the 
same fate." 

The army made some stay at Fort Prince George, and 
useless endeavors were put forth to bring about a pacifica- 
tion with the upper portion of the Cherokees. In the 



398 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



month of June the troops were again on their advance 
into the wilderness of the interior. Near the Indian town 
of Etchoe, the native warriors prepared a most skillful am- 
buscade to check the advancing forces. It was in a deep 
valley, through which ran a muddy stream, with steep 
banks ; on either side of which the way was completely 
choked with tangled brushwood. Some hard fighting 
took place at this spot, in which twenty of the whites 
were killed and seventy-six wounded. The loss on the 
side of the Indians was much less, and, although driven 
from the spot where the first stand was made, they in- 
trenched themselves a little farther on. Under these cir- 
cumstances, Montgomery determined to secure the safety 
of his troops, and to provide for the requisite attention to 
his wounded men, by a retreat. He soon after sailed for 
New York, leaving four companies of regulars, under 
Major Hamilton, for the protection of the frontier. 

The garrison at the isolated Fort Loudon was now in a 
state of imminent peril. The provisions of the place were 
nearly exhausted, and the redoubtable Occonostota was 
laying close siege to it with his fierce and enraged warriors. 
After suffering great extremes of privation, and experi- 
encing disappointment in all their hopes of relief, the two 
hundred men stationed at this place were obliged to ca- 
pitulate, and trust to the honor of their savage enemy. 
Captain Steuart, an officer greatly in favor with all the ' 
friendly Indians, arranged the terms upon which the fort 
should be evacuated. The troops were to be allowed a 
free and unmolested passage to Virginia, or Fort Prince 
George, and a detachment of Indians was to accompany 
them for the purpose of supplying provisions by hunting. 

The garrison marched out on the 7th of August (1760). 
Occonostota himself, with a number of other natives, kept 
company with the whites, during the first day's march of 
fifteen miles ; but these all disappeared when they reached 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEKN STATES. 399 



the place of encampment, near an Indian town called 
Taliquo. On the next morning, just before day, (the time 
generally selected by Indians for a surprise, as men sleep 
more soundly then than at any other hour,) a large body 
of armed savages, in war-paint, were seen by a sentinel, 
creeping through the bushes, and gathering about the 
camp. Hardly was the alarm given when the attack was 
made: twenty-six of the feeble and half-starved soldiers 
were killed outright, and the rest were pinioned and 
marched back to the fort. 

Captain Steuart was among the prisoners, but his evil 
fortune was alleviated by the staunch friendship of the 
benevolent Atakullakulla. This chief, as soon as he heard 
of Steuart's situation, hastened to Fort Loudon, "and pur- 
chased him of the Indian who took him, giving him his 
rifle, clothes-, and all that he could command by way of 
ransom : he then took possession of Captain Demere's house, 
where he kept his prisoner as one of his family, and hu- 
manely shared with him the little provisions his table 
afforded, until an opportunity should offer of rescuing him." 

A quantity of ammunition was discovered by the In- 
dians, buried in the fort, and Occonostota determined to 
proceed at once to lay siege to Fort Prince George. Captain 
Steuart was informed that the assistance of himself and 
his men would be required in the management of the great 
guns, and that, furthermore, if the garrison should refuse 
to capitulate, all the prisoners now in the hands of the 
Indians should, one by one, be burned in sight of the fort. 
Perceiving the difficulty of his situation, the captain begged 
his kind old proprietor to assist him in effecting an escape, 
and Attakullakulla readily lent his aid. Upon pretence 
of taking his prisoner out for a hunt, he left Fort Loudon, 
with his wife and brother, and two English soldiers, and 
took a direct course for the Virginia frontier. After a 
most toilsome and dangerous march, they fell in with a 



400 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



party of three Hundred men, sent out for the relief of such 
of the garrison at Fort Loudon as might have effected their 
escape. Being now in safety, Captain Steuart dismissed 
his Indian friends with handsome rewards, to return and 
attend to the welfare of his former fellow-prisoners. Such 
of them as had survived were afterwards ransomed and 
delivered up at Fort Prince George. 

This post was immediately supplied with provisions in 
anticipation of the siege; and care was taken, through the 
mediation of Attakullakulla, to impress the Cherokees with 
| the idea that it was totally impregnable. 

Matters appeared now to be, in some manner, at rest; 
but the majority of the Cherokee nation remained thor- 
oughly inimical, and emissaries from the French colonies 
were busy in their midst. A French officer, of the name 
of Latinac, was especially successful in rousing up their 
hostile feelings. As an instance of his style of proceeding, 
it is related that, at a great conclave of the tribe, he step- 
ped out, and drove his hatchet into a log, calling out : 
'"Who is the man that will take this up for 'the king of 
France?' Saloue, a young warrior of Estatoe, laid hold of I 
it, and cried out, 'I am for war! the spirits of our brothers 
who have been slain still call upon us to revenge their 
death—he is no better than a woman who refuses to fol- 
low me.' " 

In the following spring, Colonel James Grant, who had 
succeeded to the command of the Highlanders employed 
in British service in America, commenced active operations 
against the belligerent nation. What with the aid of the 
provincials and friendly Indians, he was at the head of | 
about twenty -six hundred men. The Chickasaws and 
Catawbas lent some assistance to the English; but the 
Creeks are said to have alternately inclined to the French 
or English, according as they received or hoped for favors 
and presents. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 401 

The army reached Fort Prince George on the 27th of 

j j May, (1761,) and there old Attakullakulla made his ap- 

1 1 pearance, deprecating the proposed vengeance of the whites 

! | upon his people. He was told that the English still felt 

| j the strongest regard for him individually, but that the ill- 

! I will and misconduct of the majority of the nation were too 

j j palpable and gross to be suffered to go longer unpunished, 

j | Colonel Grant marched from the fort in the month of June, 

j j and advanced nearly to the spot where Montgomery's 

j j progress had been arrested, before coming to an engage- 

I ment. Here the Cherokees, on the 10th, made a desperate 

j i but unavailing stand ; they were routed and dispersed, leav- 

1 1 ing their towns and villages of the interior to be destroyed 

j | by the invaders. Etchoe was burned on the day following 

j j the battle; and, according to McCall, "all the other towns 

j j in the middle settlement, fourteen in number, shared the 

j j same fate : the corn, cattle, and other stores of the enemy, 
were likewise destroyed, and those miserable savages, with 
their families, were driven to seek shelter and subsistence 

1 1 among the barren mountains." 

Upon the return of the army to Fort Prince George, 

i | after this campaign, Attakullakulla again visited the camp, 

| bringing with him a number of other Cherokee chiefs, 

i Broken down by their disastrous losses, and disgusted with 

1 1 the deceitful promises of the French, they gladly acceded 

1 1 to such terms as Colonel Grant thought fit to impose, and 

| j a treaty of peace was formally concluded. 
1! 26 



402 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA, 



CHAPTER III. 

CAPTAIN STEUART's AGENCY— DISTURBANCE IN 1767 VISIT OF 

TECUM SEH TO THE SOUTHERN TRIBES WEATHERFORD SACK 

OF FORT MIMMS WAR OF 1813— GENERAL JACKSON'S 

CAMPAIGN— BATTLES ON THE TALLUSAHATCHEE ; AT 

TALLADEGA, AUTOSSEE, ETC.— THE HALLIBEES 

DEFEAT OF THE INDIANS AT HORSE-SHOE 
BEND END OF THE WAR. 

In the year 1762, it was thought advisable by the Eng- 
lish government to appoint a general agent and superin- 
tendent of Indian affairs at the south. Partly through the 
earnest intervention of Attakullakulla, but especially be- 
cause of his known sagacity and influence over the native 
tribes, this office was conferred upon Captain John Steu- 
art. Upon entering on the duties of his appointment, he 
called a great council of deputies, from all the southern 
tribes, at Mobile. Addressing the assembled chiefs in 
their own style of oratory, he explained to them the rela- 
tions then existing between France and England, impress- 
ing upon them the idea that all residing east of the 
Mississippi, must now look to the English for supplies and 
protection. He directed his harangue to the several 
nations in separate succession, promising entire amnesty 
to all who had taken up the hatchet in behalf of the 
French ; commending those who had remained faithful to 
the English ; and excusing those who had sided with the 
enemy, as the victims of deception. 

It was proposed to adopt, at this time, a more just and 
equable policy towards the Indians than had heretofore 
been used, and to take the necessary steps to secure them 
against the deception of unprincipled speculators. Affairs, 
accordingly, looked peaceful and prosperous for some 
years. The natives made over a large additional tract of 
$ 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 403 

land to the growing colony of Georgia, to be sold, and the 
avails applied to the discharge of the heavy debts they 
had incurred for supplies of ammunition, clothing, &c. 
The following circumstance sufficiently evinces the policy 
of mild measures towards the Indians: In 1767, the whites 
having made encroachments upon the Indian lands, some 
of the Creek warriors began to retaliate by stealing horses 
which they found upon their own territory. A party of 
them also attacked a store at Trader's Hill, on the St. 
Mary's, belonging to one Lemmons, and after plundering 
it of its contents, burned the buildings. Some of the 
whites pursued these marauders; recovered the stolen 
horses ; laid hands upon what valuable goods they could 
discover, and destroyed the villages of the offenders. Far 
less important affairs have often led to long and bloody 
wars with the natives; but, in this instance, Governor 
Wright, at Savannah, restored perfect quiet by decreeing 
mutual restorations and compensation. 

ISTo events of very striking interest connected with the 
Indians of the Southern States, call for our attention from 
this period to that of the wars with the western tribes in 
the early part of the present century. Until they became, 
to a certain extent, involved in those hostilities, they re- 
mained in comparative peace with the American whites. 
After the termination of the revolutionary war, and the 
establishment of the independence of the United States, 
the intrigues of opposing parties no longer operated to 
foment disturbance, or to tempt the unfortunate savages 
to engage in quarrels where they had nothing to gain, and 
which ever resulted in their final discomfiture. 

By a steady increase of numbers, and the adventurous | 
spirit of pioneers, the white settlers every where made 
advances upon the Indian territory. Sometimes large ac- 
quisitions would be made by a government purchase ; but, 
to no small extent, the opinion that the occupation of a 



404 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



few roving savages could give no natural title to lands, as 
opposed to the claims of those who had reclaimed, inclosed, 
and improved the wilderness, satisfied the consciences of 
the encroachers. The argument in favor of this conclu- 
sion is by no means without force; but who can take upon 
himself to draw the line of demarcation which shall decide, 
upon any principle of universal application, the bounds 
of so artificial a right as the ownership of land? 

In the autumn of 1811, the great Shawanee chief Te- 
cumseh, in pursuance of his bold and extensive plans for 
a universal association of the Indians against the whites, 
made a tour among the southern tribes. His eloquent 
appeals, and the overpowering energy which distinguished 
this truly great man, proved successful in the winning 
over to his views of no small number of the Indian war- 
riors, even among those who had long maintained a 
friendly intercourse with the Americans and the govern- 
| ment of the United States. 

At the time of the declaration of war with England, 
| (June 18th, 1812,) the whole western border of the United 
States was in a position of the greatest danger and inse- 
curity. The machinations of Tecumseh and the Prophet 
had roused an extensive flame of vindictive ferocity 
| throughout the Indian nations, while British agents, it is 
I said, were widely dispersed, and, by munificent promises 
and artful persuasions, had still farther widened the breach 
! between the savages and their white countrymen. Fright- 
ful scenes of depredation and murder called for a prompt 
and decisive check. Many minor forays are recorded, but 
the destruction of Fort Mimms in the Tensau settlement 
of Mississippi, in the summer of the year following, may 
be considered the first important part taken by the south- 
ern tribes in the wars of this period. We shall not under- 
take, in our brief account of the Indian campaign of 1818, 
to keep up a distinction between the different tribes of 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 405 

Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, &c, wlio were 
drawn into hostilities. 

Prominent among the chiefs and leaders of the southern 
confederacy, was the celebrated Weatherford. His mother 
was said to have been a Seminole, but he was born among 
the Creeks. He was, beyond question, possessed of many 
noble and commanding qualities, but these were combined 
with cruelty, avarice, and degrading vices. A party of 
about one thousand warriors, led by this popular chief, 
fell upon the devoted Fort Mimms, on the 30th of Au- 
gust, 1813. The post was garrisoned by one hundred and 
sixty efficient soldiers ; the rest of its occupants, to the 
number of one hundred and fifteen, consisted of old men, 
women and children. The forces were under the com- 
mand of Major Beasly. No regular preparations had been 
made for the reception of so powerful an enemy, and al- 
though the soldiers did their duty manfully, they were 
overpowered, and all slain except seventeen. The women 
and children having ensconced themselves in several block 
houses, met with a more terrible fate. The savages set 
fire to the buildings, and consumed them, together with 
their inmates. 

The settlers inhabiting exposed districts were now 
obliged to fly for safety to places of protection, and the 
hostile hordes of Indians were collecting their warriors for 
farther inroads upon the frontier. To resist them, a large 
force was called into requisition in Tennessee, and the 
command bestowed upon General Andrew Jackson. Col- 
onel Coffee, at the head of a considerable body of troops, 
and such volunteers as could be immediately collected, 
hastened forward to defend the country in the vicinity of 
Huntsville. General Jackson, although disabled at this 
time, by a broken arm, determined to take the field in per- 
son, and pushed on the necessary preparations with all that 
zeal and energy which marked his character through life. 



406 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



News was brought by some runners from the establish- 
ment of the friendly old Creek chief Chinnaby, that the 
enemy was approaching Huntsville, or Fort Hampton, in 
full force. The report was erroneous, but, as other rumors 
seemed, at the time, to confirm it, the general hurried his 
army on to relieve the post. This was on the 10th of Oc- 
tober (1813). From Huntsville, Jackson, with his forces, 
crossed the Tennessee, and joined Colonel Coffee, who was 
posted upon a high bluff on the south bank of the river. 

From this place, Colonel Coffee was dispatched, with 
seven hundred men, to beat up the enemies' quarters on 
the Black Warrior river, while the commander of the 
army turned all his attention to securing some supplies of 
provision for his famishing troops. Encamped in the 
enemies' country, whither they had arrived by forced 
marches, the troops were necessarily exposed to great hard- 
ship and want. While awaiting supplies at this encamp- 
ment, General Jackson had an interview with Shelocta, a 
son of Chinnaby, who had come to request assistance for 
his father and friends, blockaded in their fort by the hos- 
tile Creeks. He said that a considerable force of the 
enemy was now in the vicinity of the Ten Islands, on 
the Coosa. 

The news was confirmed by other messengers, and the 
commander proceeded towards the Coosa, to protect his 
Indian allies, notwithstanding the straits to which his men 
were reduced from want of provisions. The troops reached 
the Islands without encountering an enemy. On the route 
Colonel Dyer was detached, with two hundred mounted 
men to fall upon Littafutchee, at the head of Canoe Creek, a 
western tributary of the Coosa. He accomplished the ser- 
vice, destroyed the town, and brought back to the camp 
twenty -nine prisoners. 

While encamped at the Ten Islands, the general ascer- 
tained the real rendezvous of the enemy to be upon the 



INDIAN'S OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 407 

Tallussahatchee Creek, emptying into the Coosa about thir- 
teen miles below the encampment. Colonel Coffee, with 
nine hundred men, was promptly ordered upon the duty 
of engaging them. He forded the Coosa at the Fish- 
Dams, and, approaching the Indian camp, so disposed his 
forces as to partially surround it, while several companies, 
under Captain Hammond and Lieutenant Patterson, were 
marched in to beat up the enemies' quarters. The savages 
fought boldly and desperately, but were overpowered and 
driven into their buildings, where one hundred and eighty- 
six of their number perished, fighting hand to hand. 
Eighty-four women and children were taken prisoners, 
and a number were killed, as is said, by accident, during 
the melee. This battle was fought on the 3d of Novem- 
ber (1813). 

A species of fortification was now prepared at the islands, 
and named Fort Strother. On the 7th of the month, in- 
formation was received that the enemy was collecting in 
force to attack Talladega— a post about thirty miles be- 
low, occupied by friendly Indians, — and General Jackson, 
with nearly his whole army, consisting of twelve hundred 
infantry and eight hundred mounted men, hastened to its 
relief. The baggage, the sick, and the wounded, were left, 
under a guard of protection, at Fort Strother. 

The river was forded by the mounted men, each carry- 
ing one of the infantry behind him, a process which was 
continued till the whole army was safely landed on the 
opposite shore. It was about midnight when the march 
commenced, and on the evening of the ensuing day, a spot 
only six miles from Talladega was reached. By four 
o'clock, on the following morning, the troops were again 
in motion ; and, acting upon intelligence obtained by re- 
connoitering during the night, General Jackson was ena- 
bled so to dispose his troops as partially to surround the 
camp before the action commenced. It is unnecessary to 



408 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



give the details of this battle. The Indians displayed both 
courage and firmness, and by the impetuosity of their 
attack, broke through the line of the advancing forces at 
a point occupied by General Eoberts' brigade, They were 
driven in again by a body of reserved troops, but suc- 
ceeded in making their escape to the mountains, three 
miles distant, through an opening left by some miscalcu- 
lation in the direction of the Americans' advance. "In 
this battle," according to Cobbett, "the force of the enemy 
was one thousand and eighty, of whom two hundred and 
ninety-nine were left dead on the ground; and it is be- 
lieved that many were killed in the flight, who were not ; 
found when the estimate was made. Their loss, on this 
occasion, as stated since by themselves, was not less than 
six hundred: that of the Americans was fifteen killed aud 
eighty wounded, several of whom afterwards died." 

The friendly Indians, who had been besieged in their 
fort at this place, deprived even of water, expressed the 
liveliest gratitude and exultation at their release. The 
fatigue, exposure, and want which the army were com- 
pelled to undergo, now began to arouse a spirit of discon- 
tent and mutiny. Few men have ever possessed that self- 
devotion and noble spirit of endurance, combined with 
an inflexibility of purpose never surpassed, which enabled 
Jackson to quell the disturbances which arose, and to 
preserve the forces under his charge in a condition for 
active and useful service. 

After the battle at Talladega, the Hallibee Indians, who 
were largely concerned in that transaction, sued for peace. | 
They were told by the American general that this should i 
be accorded, upon condition of the restoration of plundered I 
property, and the delivering up of those who had taken j 1 
part in the massacre at Fort Mimms. Unfortunately, | 
while these negotiations were pending, General White, I 
acting under orders independent of General Jackson, at- I 




Gen. JACKSON. 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 409 

tacked the towns of these Indians, destroyed many of 
their warriors, and carried off several hundred captives. 
Supposing that this was by Jackson's orders, they expected 
no further favor, and fought thereafter with the despera- 
tion of men to whom no quarter was to be given. 

The result of this Indian campaign was the entire re- 
duction of the hostile nations. We need not recount the 
various battles in which they were defeated and destroyed. 
The most noted of these were at Autossee, where some 
two hundred were massacred, on the 29th of November, 
and that of the great bend in the Tallapoosie, known as 
Horse-Shoe Bend. At this latter point, the Indians forti- 
fied themselves for a last and desperate stand. 

They were supposed to be about one thousand in num- 
ber, and had been, for some time, strengthening their 
position by every means within their reach. This was in 
the month of March, 1814. On the 27th, General Jackson, 
with a force of whites and friendly Indians, three times 
the number of the enemy, commenced operations against 
the fort. General Coffee, with most of the cavalry and 
Indian allies, was directed to surround the bend, in order 
to cut off all retreat across the river. The place was then 
carried by storm, under a heavy fire from within. More 
than half the Indians were killed at the fort, and an un- 
known number perished in their endeavors to escape by 
crossing the river, beset as it was by the assailants. Some 
have asserted that probably not more than twenty ever 
reached a place of safety. At a time when it was evident 
that the fortune of the day was decided, General Jackson 
sent a messenger, with a flag of truce, to invite a surrender; 
but, from ignorance or desperation, the savages fired upon 
the bearer of the flag. After this, no mercy was shown: 
until night put an end to the work of destruction, they 
were shot or cut down wherever they coiild be found, and 
even on the following morning, a considerable number were 



410 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



ferreted out from the ''caves and reeds," where they had 
sought concealment, and remorselessly put to death. Sev- 
eral hundred women and children were made captives. 
The loss of the attacking army, in this battle, was fifty-five 
killed, and one hundred and forty-six wounded. 

In the ensuing month, (April,) General Jackson having 
effected a junction with the troops from Georgia, under 
Colonel Milton, received a deputation from the principal 
hostile tribes, expressing a wish for peace. The general 
demanded, as one condition upon which he would treat, 
and as a test of the sincerity of the proposal, that the great 
but notorious Weatherford should be delivered up for 
punishment. This chief, hearing of the requisition, and 
hopeless of further success in resistance, came voluntarily 
to the American camp, and presenting himself before the 
commander, with characteristic dignity and composure, 
requested peace for his people, and announced his own 
submission to his fate, whatever it might be. 

His speech on this occasion is given as follows: "I am 
in your power— do with me as you please— I am a soldier. 
I have done the whites all the harm I could. I have 
fought them, and fought them bravely. If I had an army, 
I would yet fight — I would contend to the last: but I 
have none. My people are all gone. I can only weep 
over the misfortunes of my nation." 

On being told that he was still at liberty to depart, and that 
no favor would be shown to him or his nation unless they 
should submit to whatever terms the whites should see fit 
to impose, he replied: "You can safely address me in 
such terms now. There was a time when I could have 
answered you— there was a time when I had a choice— I 
have none now. I have not even a hope. I could once 
animate my warriors to battle; but I cannot animate the 
dead. My warriors can no longer hear my voice. Their 
bones are at Talladega, Tallusshatchee, Emuckfaw, and To- 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEKN STATES. 411 

hopeka. * * * * You are a brave man ; I rely upon your 
generosity. You will exact no terms of a conquered 
people but such as they should accede to." 

This was the last important incident of the campaign. 
The Indians submitted to the dictation of the whites, and 
retired to the districts assigned them, eastward of the Coosa. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 

PRESENT LOCATION AND CONDITION OF THE OTHER TRIBES 
OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 

"Bearing a people with all its household Gods into exile, 
Exile without an end, and without an example in story. — " 

Longfellow. 

But a few years have passed since the Cherokees were 
in the peaceful occupation of an immense and fertile ter- 
ritory in the northern part of Georgia. They numbered 
not far from eighteen thousand, and were increasing in a 
ratio which attested their power of self-support and im- 
provement. They had made advances far beyond most 
of their red brethren in the arts of agriculture and manu- 
factures. A system of legislation adapted to their capaci- 
ties and wants had been established, and, generally speaking, 
the nation exhibited a praiseworthy spectacle of sobriety, 
industry, and good order. They were in possession of 
about eight millions of acres of land, and their ability and 
inclination to cultivate it, may appear from the statistics 
of their stock and agricultural implements. In 1826, they 
were the owners of seven thousand six hundred horses, 
twenty-two thousand cattle, forty-six thousand swine, and 
two thousand five hundred sheep. There were in use 



412 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA, 



among them two thousand nine hundred and forty-three 
ploughs, and one hundred and seventy-two wagons. They 
occupied their territory under the treaties entered into, 
and within the bounds assigned at the negotiations between 
the confederate states and the Indian tribes of the south, 
at the close of the revolutionary war. 

In the year 1802, when the long-vexed question of the 
boundaries of the state of Georgia was finally settled, the 
United States stipulated to extinguish the title of the 
Cherokees to the lands then in their possession, "as early 
as the same could be peaceably obtained, upon reasonable 
terms." 

As the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi 
increased in power and population, they became more and 
more impatient of the existence of self-governing and 
independent tribes within their boundaries, and began to 
exert a control over them in some instances exceedingly 
unjust and oppressive. Strong efforts were made to induce 
an emigration of these Indians to the west, which were in 
some measure successful, and, prior to 1829, a cession or 
sale of a very large district had been obtained from the 
Cherokees. The members of this tribe, naturally attached 
to the beautiful country in which they had passed their 
lives, finally determined to retain possession of what re- 
mained of their lands, and to allow of no further sales 
to whites. 

In December, of the above year, the state of Georgia 
passed a series of acts which justly aroused the fears and 
indignation of the Indians, and excited a feeling of sym- 
pathy in their behalf, as powerful as extensive. The laws 
of the state were declared to be in full force over all the 
Aborigines within its limits; the regulations and provi- 
sions of the Cherokee council were declared invalid and 
void; heavy penalties (amounting to years of imprison- 
ment at hard labor) were awarded against any Cherokee 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 413 

who should "endeavour" to oppose emigration; and it 
was even enacted, by the fifteenth section, "that no In- 
dian, or descendant of an Indian, within the Cherokee 
nation of Indians, shall be a competent witness in any 
court of Georgia, in a suit in which a white man is a party, 
unless such white man resides within said nation." 

Notwithstanding the adverse opinions of many of the 
ablest jurists in the country, as to the constitutionality or 
validity of these and other provisions of the Georgia legis- 
lature, and even a decision against them in the Supreme 
Court of the United States, they were, to a certain extent, 
enforced. The situation of the Indians became, in conse- 
quence, so precarious and uncomfortable, that a consider- 
able party was formed among them of those favorable to 
migration. At the head of this faction was Major Kidge, 
while the celebrated John Ross was the leader of those 
opposed to the movement— a very large majority of the 
nation. 

Matters continued in a disturbed and unquiet state, 
until 1835. At this time the Rev. J. T. Schermerhorn 
was deputed by the United States executive to bring about 
a treaty whereby the Cherokees should remove peaceably, 
receiving a reasonable compensation for the improvements 
which they should leave behind them. 

The negotiation appears to have been conducted as most 
Indian treaties have been, wherever a specific object was 
to be gained. Notice was given of a council to be held, 
and a collection of those favorable to the "proposed emi- 
gration ratified a treaty, by which the whole tribe was 
bound to remove within two years. Notwithstanding the 
obvious want of authority on the part of those individuals 
to bind the nation, and a remonstrance signed by the thou- 
sands who opposed the treaty, it was ratified by Congress. 
An appropriation was made for the indemnification of 
those who should suffer loss by being torn from their 



414 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



homes, and for the other expenses attending the iniquitous 
transaction, and nothing was left to the unhappy Chero- 
kees but submission. 

ISTo resistance was made, as, indeed, any opposition 
would have been utterly fruitless. The United States' 
forces, sent to overawe the Indians and enforce compliance 
with the cruel edict, found no call for their services. With 
a commendable spirit of energy and perseverance, the 
Cherokees, with their brethren of the neighboring tribes 
of the south, have pursued the arts and refinements of 
civilization in their new homes at the west. They are 
now set down as numbering not far from twenty-six thou- 
sand, of whom by far the larger portion is located west of 
the Mississippi. A considerable settlement, however, is 
still existing in North Carolina. 

The Creeks or Muscogees have been continually emi- 
grating westward since the era of the difficulties between 
the southern states and the Indians within their limits, in 
1828-9, et seq. They enjoy a tolerably systematic form of 
government, and are in many respects prosperous. 

^ Without going into a particular description of the con- 
dition of the other emigrating nations, we will conclude 
this subject with the remarks of Mr. Schoolcraft, upon 
"The problem of civilization," to be solved in the future 
history of these races. "Whatever doubts have existed, 
heretofore, in regard to the satisfactory solution of this 
question, they must now give way before the cheering 
results that have attended the philanthropic efforts that 
have, from time to time, been made, and are at present 
going on among the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, 
and Creeks. These tribes yielded their country east of 
the Mississippi, rendered dear to them by the associations 
of youth, their traditions, and the graves of their fathers. 
They had learned the great truths of Christianity, and the 
arts of agriculture, and of civilized life; yet they gave up 



INDIANS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 415 

all, and sought a new home in the far-off wilderness, and 
have made in that wilderness fruitful arid rich farms, and 
flourishing villages. Some of their schools are of a high 
order. The gospel ministry is well attended. Some of 
their constitutions are purely republican. The people are 
increasing in numbers. Peace dwells within their limits, 
and plenteousness within their borders ; civilization upon 
Christian principles; agriculture and the mechanic arts; 
and schools. With these primary and fundamental prin- 
ciples of human happiness, civilization among them is no 
longer problematical." 



NORTHERN RACES. 



CHAPTEE I . 

THE ESQUIMAUX: THEIR MANNERS AND PERSONAL APPEARANCE— 

ACCOUNTS OF EARLY VOYAGERS ESQUIMAUX HABITATIONS. FOOD. 

ETC.— THE KAIAK OR CANOE— SEALING— THE REIN-DEER— 
USES OF THE DOG — PATRIARCHAL GOVERNMENT — - 
EFFECTS OF FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 

" Semper hyems; semper spirantes frigora Cauri." 

Virgil. 

There is little, besides some analogies in language, to 
connect the uncouth race which forms the subject of this 
chapter yrith the inhabitants of the more genial climates 
of North America. The Esquimaux are spread over a 
vast region at the north, dwelling principally upon the 
sea-coast, and upon the numberless inlets and sounds with. 
which the country is intersected There is a striking sim- 
ilarity in the language, habits and appearance of all the 
tribes of the extreme north, from Greenland to Bhering's 
Straits. 

Charlevoix gives a very uninviting description of their 
personal aspect. He tells us that there are none of the 
American races who approach so nearly to the idea usu- 
ally entertained in Europe of savages" as do the Esqui- 
maux. In striking contrast to the thin beard (for the 
most part artificially eradicated) of other American abo- 
rigines, these people have that excrescence 11 si epaiss'e 
jusq 'aux ?jeux } qu'on a xylene a decouvrir 'qudgues traits 



NORTHERN RACES, 



417 



j de leur visage." It covers their faces nearly to the eyes; 

so that one can scarcely distinguish some features of their 
! j countenance. They have, moreover, he says, something 
hideous in their general aspect and demeanor— small, wild- 
! j looking eyes, large and very foul teeth, the hair generally 
! | black, but sometimes fair, and always in extreme disorder, 
1 1 and their whole exterior rough and brutish. Their man- 
1 1 ners and character do not falsify this unprepossessing 
! physiognomy. They are savage, rude, suspicious, unquiet, 
! and always evil-disposed towards strangers. He considers 
| their fair hair and skin, with the slight general resemblance 
! ! they bear towards, and the limited intercourse they carry 
| ! on with, the neighboring natives, as indisputable evidence 

of a separate origin. 
I Prichard says, that "the description given by Crantz of 
the Greenlanders, may well apply to the whole race. They 
| are, for the most part, under five feet in stature. They have 

I well-shaped and proportioned limbs. Their face is com- 
j | monly broad and flat, with high cheek-bones, but round 
j ! and plump cheeks; their eyes are little and black, but de- 
! j void of sparkling fire ; their nose is not flat, but small, and 
j | projecting but little; their mouth is little and round, and 
j ! the under lip somewhat thicker than the other. They 
! | have universally coal-black, straight, strong and long hair 
| j on their heads, but no beards, because they root it out."— 

I I These last particulars will be seen to be variant from the 
| description given above by Charlevoix, of the race in 

general.— Crantz proceeds : " Their hands and feet are little 
and soft, but their head and the rest of their limbs are 
j large. They have high breasts and broad shoulders ; their 
whole body is fat." 

The descriptions handed down by the most ancient 
voyagers to Greenland of the Skrsellings or natives whom 
I they encountered, corresponds very nearly with the gen- 
eral outline above given. They speak of them as a 
27 



418 INDIAN RACES OP AMERICA. 

dwarfish people-seldom more than four feet four iuehes 
m height; suspicious and hostile towards strangers • sub- 
sisting upon the products of the sea; clothed in the same 
style, and using the same weapons, boats and implements, 
as those still inhabiting the country. The inhospitable 
nature of their climate, their slender resources, and the 
deterioration of the race consequent upon such a mode of 
hfe as theirs, seem to preclude the probability of much 
improvement ever taking place in their condition. 

The Esquimaux received little better treatment, at the 
hands of the early European discoverers, than did their 
brethren farther south. It is strange to read of the cool- 
ness with which those adventurers speak of the enormities 
committed not unfrequently against the unoffending and 
ignorant natives. The meeting with several "wild men " 
and the killing one of them "to make the rest tractable!" 
is mentioned as a passing and ordinary event. 

In Frobisher's expedition, after a skirmish in which 
many of the Indians were killed, two prisoners were taken. 
One of them, an old woman, was so disgustingly hideous 
in her whole appearance that suspicions were entertained 
lest she should be the devil himself; and the captors pro- 
ceeded to pluck off her buskins, in order to satisfy them- 
selves as to whether the cloven hoof was not concealed by 
them. _ The other captive, a young woman, with awounded 
child m her arms, was retained, but the old hag was dis- 
missed as being too revolting an object to be endured. 
When attempts were made to apply remedies to the wound 
of the child, the mother "licked off with her tongue the 
dressings and salves, and cured it in her own way " 

John Davis was disposed to treat them more kindly 
than most of his predecessors, but his indignation was 
finally excited by their "practising their devilish nature » 
and he allowed his men to retaliate upon them in some 
measure. 



r 



NORTHERN RACES. 



419 



Notwithstanding the bad character given of this people, 
it appears that, after their first suspicions are allayed, they 
prove gentle and tractable associates; and are by no means 
wanting in urbanity and kindliness. How readily their j 
suspicions are allayed, will appear from the account of j 
Captain Back's first meeting with a small party of Esqui- j 
maux. They were seen at a short distance, gathering in 
excited groups, or running about at their wit's-end with 
astonishment at the appearance of these "Kabloonds" or 
Europeans, being the first they had ever seen. When the 
English began to advance towards them, they were at first 
repelled by wild outcries, and gesticulations, and by hos- 
tile demonstrations with the spears, which formed the 
weapons of the Indians. The uncouth group stood in a 
semi-circle, "yelling out some unintelligible word," as the 
captain boldly and composedly walked up to them, and' 
made signs of peace, throwing up his hands, as he observed 
them to do, and calling out " Tima "—(peace). "In an 
instant their spears were flung to the ground ; and, putting 
their hands on their breasts, they also called out Tima, 
with much more, doubtless greatly to the purpose." 

Any attempt to give a connected history of the Esqui- 
maux, from the time of their first intercourse with Eu- 
ropeans would necessarily resolve itself into a narrative 
of the various polar expeditions. The progress of the 
Christian missions upon the coast, could we afford space 
to enter upon it, might throw some light upon the natural 
endowments of the race ; but we must content ourselves 
with a few general descriptions, cited indiscriminately from 
different authors. 

The dwellings of the Esquimaux consist either of move- 
able tents, constructed of poles and skins, in the style of 
an ordinary Indian wigwam, or of regularly arched domes 
of snow and ice. The precision, rapidity, and geometrical j 
accuracy which they display in shaping the blocks of which 



420 



INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 



these snow huts are composed, excite the admiration of 
the beholder. An art which the architects of the ancient 
nations of Europe never acquired— the formation of the 
arch-has from time immemorial been in use among this 
untutored race. The snow houses prove as tight, warm 
and comfortable as could be desired; but the habits of 
the occupants render them insufferably offensive to the 
whites. Crowded with dogs, defiled with oil, blubber, and 
oflal; and blackened by smoke and filth, they are said to 
nauseate even those whose lives are passed amid the im- 
purities of a whale-ship. A person entering one of these 
huta is obliged to creep through a low arched passage into 
the principal apartment, which, like those leading from it 
presents the appearance of a perfectly-formed dome, lighted 
by a window of transparent ice let into the roof. 

The tents, used upon the migratory expeditions in search 
of game, consist of skins, supported by a circle of poles 
bent together at the top, and in severe weather, thickly 
lined withan with rein-deer skins. During the long dark 
night of winter, when food is exceedingly scarce ; shut up 
m these dismal abodes; and enduring extremes of cold 
and privation elsewhere unknown; the condition of the 
Esquimaux seems most deplorable to one who has lived in 
the enjoyment of the comforts of civilization. Ear, how- 
ever, from complaining of their lot, they exhibit a singular 
cheerfulness and equanimity, even when in the greatest 
straits. Parry speaks, in the following words, of the mis- 
erable condition of a few Esquimaux who inhabited a hut 
m a deserted village, after the rest of the tribe had moved 
westward at the approach of spring. "The remaining 
tenants of each hut had combined to occupy one of the 
apartments; a great part of the bed-places were still bare 
and the wmd and drift blowing in through the holes which 
they had not yet taken the trouble to stop up. The old 
man Hikkeiera and his wife occupied a hut by themselves 



NORTHERN RACES. 



421 



without any lamp, or a single ounce of meat belonging to 
them; while three small skins, on which the former was 
lying, were all that they possessed in the way of blankets. 
Upon the whole, I never beheld a more miserable specta- 
cle, and it seemed a charity to hope that a violent and 
constant cough with which the old man was afflicted, 
would speedily combine with his age and infirmities to 
release him from his present sufferings. Yet, in the midst 
of all this, he was even cheerful, nor was there a gloomy 
countenance to be seen at the village." 

The flesh of the rein-deer, musk-ox, walrus, and seal, 
with fish, water-fowl, and occasionally the carcase of a 
stranded whale, forms the chief nourishment of the Es- 
quimaux. Nothing that has life comes amiss to them, and, 
although they prefer cooked meat to raw, this preparation 
is by no means deemed essential. The only vegetable diet 
procurable at the extreme north, except at those places 
where the natives can obtain foreign articles, consists of 
the leaves of sorrel, ground- willow, &c, with a few berries 
and roots. 

"In eating their meals," according to Parry's account, 
"the mistress of the family, having previously cooked the 
meat, takes a large lump out of the pot with her fingers, 
and hands it to her husband, who, placing a part of it be- 
tween his teeth, cuts it off with a large knife in that 
position, and then passes the knife and meat together to 
his next neighbor. In cutting off a mouthful of meat the 
knife passes so close to their lips, that nothing but constant 
habit could insure them from the danger of the most ter- 
rible gashes; and it would make an English mother 
shudder to see the manner in which children five or six 
years old, are at all times freely trusted with a knife to 
be used in this way." 

Most of the birds and quadrupeds upon which they rely 
are migratory, and only to be taken between the months 



422 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

of May and October, In March, April and May, the dif- 
ficult and dangerous hunting of the seal and walrus is their 
only resource, and success in the pursuit their only refuge 
from starvation. The "kaiak" or canoe, constructed of 
skins, and capable of containing but a single person, is all- 
essential in seal-hunting. Great dexterity is required in 
its management, and how the operation of throwing the 
dart or harpoon, and of securing the bulky prey, can be 
carried on in safety in such a slender and unsteady con- 
veyance, seems incomprehensible to the unpractised eye. I 
The frail boat is built with great elegance and lightness. A 
frame of slender beams of fir is constructed, twenty or twen- 
ty-five feet in length, a little less than two feet in breadth, 
and about one foot deep. This is entirely covered with 
the skin of the neitiek, or small seal, so neatly and strongly 
sewed as to be perfectly water-tight. A circular hole is 
then cut in the deck, wherein sits the solitary navigator, 
urging the kaiak forward by means of a paddle having a 
blade at each end. He cannot founder so long as he can 
maintain an upright position. An upset would be inev- 
itable destruction to one unacquainted with the nature of 
the craft, but the Esquimaux readily rights the kaiak under 
such circumstances, by a dexterous use of his paddle. A 
float is attached to the harpoon, used in striking the seal, 
which prevents him from escape by diving. As he reap- 
pears, after a momentary submersion, his pursuers press 
upon and speedily dispatch him. 

When the prey is brought to land, the duty of flaying 
separating, and preparing it for preservation, devolves 
upon the women. Nothing is allowed to be wasted, but 
every portion of the carcase is applied to some useful pur- 
pose ; the fastidiousness of the whites, touching the portions 
suitable for food, being utterly unknown. The lean meat 
of the seal and other animals is preserved in various ways 
Much of it is cut in thin slices, and dried in the warm and 



NORTHERN RACES. 



423 



smoky atmosphere of the huts, and a concentrated article 
of food, called "Pemmican," is prepared by pounding it 
with fat. 

The welcome event of a wounded or dead whale being 
driven on shore, brings down the whole neighboring pop- 
ulation to share in the spoil. Nothing could be more 
valuable to these people than the various substances ob- 
tained from the enormous carcase. The blubber is sepa- 
rated and preserved for oil; the coarse muscular tissue 
forms to them a palatable article of food ; the sinews serve 
for lines and cordage; and the whale-bone is made avail- 
able by traffic with Europeans. 

Of the rein-deer, two species furnish food and clothing 
to the inhabitants of the cold regions of northern America, 
although, singularly enough, none of them have succeeded 
in domesticating the animal. They are accustomed to 
discard no portion of the flesh, and even devour the con- 
tents of the stomach. Perhaps in no instance has the 
service of an animal proved of more signal aid and comfort 
to any race than that of the dog to the Esquimaux. The 
principal use to which he is applied is that of drawing the 
sledge, but, upon hunting excursions, in the summer, he is 
loaded with a weight, it is said, of some thirty pounds. 
The sledges in which winter journeys are performed, are 
drawn by a number of dogs proportionate to the weight to 
be transported, the distance to be traversed, and perhaps 
the possessions of the owner. The animals are separately 
connected with the sledge, at unequal distances, by single 
thongs of leather or hide. The most sagacious and well- 
trained of the pack is placed at the end of the longest 
tether, some twenty feet from the vehicle, to act as leader, 
and the intelligence and certainty with which he obeys the 
signal of command from the driver is very striking. 

The whip with which the movements of the team are 
guided, and with which the refractory or stupid are disci- 



424 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



plined, consists of a short stock— only eighteen inches in 
length— to which a lash, long enough to reach the leading 
dog, is attached, and allowed to trail beside the sledge. 
This lash is rendered pliable by a process resorted to for 
preparing leather for various purposes, viz : that of chewing. 
The operation is performed by the women, and to its con- 
stant exercise, some travellers attribute the bad condition 
of their teeth, before noticed. The sledge is composed of 
two runners, of wood or bone,— sometimes of the jaw- 
bones of a whale— connected by cross-pieces and lashings. 
Moss is packed closely between these, and skins are laid 
upon the top. The runners are preserved from wear, and 
made to slide easily over the surface of the snow by coat- 
ing them with smooth ice. 

The Esquimaux perform journeys of sixty miles a day, 
with a single pack of dogs, and stories, at first glance al- 
most incredible, are told of the distances accomplished, and 
the weights transported by particularly fine specimens of 
the breed. Besides serving as a beast of burden and 
draught, the Esquimaux dog is a bold and active assistant 
in the hunt for rein-deer, bears, &c. ; but, singularly enough, 
while he will rush upon an animal so much his superior 
in size and strength as the bear, he is terror-stricken at 
the sight of the wolf, to whom he bears a striking resem- 
blance, and with whom he would seem more equally 
matched. 

Faithful and docile, and subsisting upon the coarsest 
refuse, the dog supplies to the Esquimaux the place of the 
rein-deer, in other high latitudes, for all laborious service. 
He meets with nothing but rough treatment and scanty 
fare: his master never caresses or makes much of him; 
but this does not prevent him from forming the strong 
attachments peculiar to the race. 

No where do we find a system of patriarchal government 
maintained in more primeval simplicity than among the 



THE SILVER FOX. 
This animal inhabits the icy regions traversed by the Esquimaux and other Northern 
tribes. He is much larger and more courageous than the common fox, having been coo- 
founded bv Gmeliu (according to M. Boitard) with the loup noir, or black wolf. 



NORTHERN RACES. 



425 



Esquimaux, and no where is that authority more mildly 
administered. Families and communities live together in 
the greatest harmony, and no one arrogates to himself a 
control over those about him beyond the circle of his own 
family. Dexterity and success in fishing and hunting form 
almost the only claim for admiration or distinction in the 
eyes of this unsophisticated people. So peaceful and con- 
tented a life, amid the eternal snows of the north, with 
such few means of comfort and enjoyment, stands forth in 
striking contrast with the private discontent and public 
animosity of more privileged nations. 

Where the natives of Greenland and other countries at 
the north have held free intercourse with Europeans, in- 
stances have been found, among them, of much higher 
intelligence than is usually attributed to the race. Cap- 
tain Parry, in his second voyage, particularly describes a 
female named Iligliuk. Her correct ear for music, and 
appreciation of its beauties, were very remarkable; and 
the interest and attention which all the novel mechanical 
arts exercised on board the ship excited in her mind, gave 
evidence of no little capacity for improvement. 

We cannot give a better idea of the effect which inter- 
course with foreigners has produced upon some of the 
Esquimaux, in changing their original quiet and unobtru- 
sive demeanor, than by the following quotation from 
Captain Lyon: 

"I could not but compare the boisterous, noisy, fat fel- 
lows, who were along-side, in excellent canoes, with well- 
furnished, iron-headed weapons, and handsome clothing, 
with the poor people we had seen at Southampton Island; 
the latter with their spear-heads, arrows, and even knives 
of chipped flint, without canoes, wood, or iron, and with 
their tents and clothes full of holes, yet of mild manners, 
quiet in speech, and as grateful for kindness as they were 
anxious to return it, while those now along-side had, per- 



426 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



haps, scarcely a virtue left, owing to the roguery they had 
learned from their annual visit to the Hudson's Bay ships. 
An air of saucy independence, a most clamorous demand 
for presents, and several attempts at theft, some of which 
were successful, were their leading characteristics. Yet I 
saw not why I should constitute myself the censor of these 
poor savages; and our barter was accordingly conducted 
in such a manner as to enrich them very considerably." 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ESQUIMAUX OF MELVILLE PENINSULA— THEIR STATURE AND 
COSTUME— SNOW HUTS AND THEIR FURNITURE— IMPLEMENTS 
FOR HUNTING AND SEALING MENTAL TRAITS. 

_ The most complete picture ever yet given of Esquimaux 
life and peculiarities, is to be found in "Parry's Second 
Voyage in search of a North-west Passage;" particularly 
in that portion of the work, at the end of the narrative, 
devoted to an "account of the Esquimaux of Melville Pe- 
ninsula and the adjoining Islands." It is our purpose, in 
this chapter, to give a brief outline of the statistics and 
details there collected. 

_ Eespecting their general appearance, Parry's descrip- 
tion of the natives does not vary materially from that 
which we have already given. He represents their stature 
as follows: the "average height of the men, five feet, five 
and one-third inches ; of the women, five feet and one-half 
inch." The women appear shorter than this standard, 
from a stoop acquired by carrying their infants in a "hood,'' 
and from the great bulk of their clothing. They are not 
an ill-formed race, and, among the tribe, were "three or 
four grown-up people, of each sex, who, when divested of 
their skin dresses, their tattooing, and, above all, of their 



NORTHERN" RACES. 



427 



dirt, might have been considered pleasing-looking, if not 
handsome people, in any town in Europe." 

They wear their hair generally long; the men allow- 
ing it to now carelessly, while the women dispose it in 
two plaits or ques, which hang down on each side of 
the face. 

Their dress bears marks of no little skill and nicety of 
finish, and is admirably calculated to defend them from 
the terrible severity of the winter-season. A double outfit 
of jackets, breeches, and boots, made of deer and seal- 
skins ; the inner suit having the hair turned inward, while 
the outer garment exhibits a hairy defence against the 
snow or rain, is essential upon all occasions of exposure 
to the open air. Water-proof boots and shoes, made of 
seal-skin, form a complete protection from the wet when 
the men are engaged in fishing and sealing. A warm 
and comfortable hood of furs covers the head and neck, 
and surrounds the face. The most absurd and ungainly 
portion of the dress of either sex is the boot worn by the 
women. This is enormously enlarged, for the purpose of 
furnishing a convenient pocket or general receptacle for 
whatever may be carried upon the person. The cavity is 
even large enough to admit of a child being stowed in it — 
a common custom in Labrador. 

All their clothing is strongly and neatly stitched, and 
no little pains is taken to render it ornamental by a judi- 
cious arrangement of light and dark furs. 

The true Indian taste for beads and showy ornaments 
prevails, and is satisfied, when other materials are want- 
ing, by affixing numberless strings of the teeth of wild 
animals to the borders of their garments. In one instance, 
"a row of foxes' noses" was seen "attached to the fore- 
part of a woman's jacket like a tier of black buttons." 

All the women of this tribe were thoroughly tattooed. 
The manner of performing this operation was by passing 



428 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



a needle and tliread through the outer skin, the thread 
being saturated with oil and lamp-black. 



The internal arrangements of the circular snow-huts in 
which the winter is passed, are as follows: Around each 
room, next the wall, a bank of snow is built to the height 
of two or three feet, upon which are placed, first a coating 
of pebbles, then a row of tent-poles, paddles, and whale- 
bone, and above all a layer of birch twigs. Upon these 
are spread the skins and furs which constitute the bedding 
of the inmates. It is evident that quite a low temperature 
must be maintained in order to preserve both house and 
furniture. The only means of warming the huts is by a 
sort of lamp, consisting of a shallow dish wrought of stone 
(lapis ollaris), "its form being the lesser segment of a, cir- 
cle. The wick, consisting of dry moss rubbed between 
the hands till it is quite inflammable, is disposed along 
the edge of the lamp on the straight side, and a greater 
or smaller quantity lighted according to the heat required 
or the fuel that can be afforded." The flame is fed by 
the drippings of a slice of fat or blubber, suspended with- 
in reach of the blaze. The stone pots for cooking are 
hung over this lamp, and, above all, is a net, stretched 
upon a hoop, whereon wet boots and other garments are 
placed to dry. 

The general atmosphere of the apartment is kept a lit- 
tle below the freezing point. Parry observed the ther- 
mometer, at a time when it fell to twenty-five degrees 
below zero in the open air, to stand at thirty -two degrees 
within a few feet of the fire; and this when the hut was 
filled with Indians and dogs. To increase the warmth, 
occasions a troublesome dripping from the roof, an incon- 
venience to which the inhabitants are obliged to submit 



NORTHERN RACES. 429 

! during some of the spring months, before the season has 
become mild enough for dwelling in tents. 

The principal household utensils are the lamps and pots 

I above mentioned, certain cups of the horn of the musk- 
ox, vessels of whalebone, and the ivory or iron knife. 
The latter, or at least the material of which it is composed, 

I is obtained by commerce with the whites. They manu- 
facture themselves a knife, having a thin iron edge let 
into the bone which forms the blade. To a limited extent 
some of the Esquimaux obtain and manufacture iron from 
the iron pyrites found in certain localities, and which 
serves them for flint and steel in lighting fires. 

The implements for hunting, in use among these Esqui- 

| maux, are simple but effective. The £ 1 siatko, 5 ' which serves 
the purpose of a harpoon in taking seals, walruses, and 
even whales, is a particularly ingenious contrivance. It 
consists of a short piece of bone, pointed with iron, and 
attached by the centre to the "allek," or long thong of 
leather. The blunt end of the siatko is fitted to the end 
of the dart, and is attached by a line, that it can be dis- 

! engaged the instant the dart strikes the prey. From the 

! manner in which it is slung, it instantly turns at right 
angles to the direction of its entrance, and will endure a 
very severe strain before it can be drawn out. At the 
other end of the "allek" is tied an inflated seal-skin, which 
serves to bring the animal quickly to the surface of the 
water. 

For their bows, they are obliged to use the wood of the 
fir-tree, and, in order to give them the requisite strength 
and elasticity, they are very artfully and neatly served 
with lines constructed of sinews. At each end of the 
bow, is a knob of bone, and to these the strengthening 
| lines are attached and drawn tight, while the bow is bent 
backward. They pass from end to end, on the back of 
the bow, and are secured and assisted by other shorter cords 



430 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



fastened by hitches round the wood. The above descrip- 
tion applies to the best weapons of the sort. — "A bow in 
one piece," says the narrative, "is very rare: they gen- 
erally consist of from two to five pieces of bone, of une- 
qual lengths, secured together by rivets and tree-nails." 
The arrows are of wood and bone united, and have heads 
of iron or slate. They will inflict a mortal wound at a 
distance of forty or fifty yards. 

In the construction of all these implements, a knife and 
a drill are the principal tools used. The latter operates 
with a bow, like that in common use among us. 

It is evident that intellectual advancement is entirely 
incompatible with such a life as we have described. The 
ideas of the Supernatural entertained by the Esquimaux 
are vague in the extreme. " They do not appear," says 
the description in Parry, "to have any idea of the exist- 
ence of One Supreme Being, nor, indeed, can they be said 
to entertain any notions on this subject which may be dig- 
nified with the name of Eeligion." 

Of certain games, consisting mostly in fantastic distor- 
tions of the body, and comical ejaculations, they are never 
weary; and a strange monotonous song, of which the 
words and music are given by Parry, furnishes amusement 
until the performers desist from sheer weariness. 

Their moral character is probably upon a par with that 
of most savages. They do not possess the high, indomita- 
ble spirit, the scorn of suffering, the clannish fury of pa- 
triotism, nor the fondness for war, so commonly considered 
the nobler traits of the American aborigines ; but, on the 
other hand, they are more kindly domestic in their feel- 
ings, and less. cruel and revengeful than their brethren at 
the South. 

They exhibit little gratitude for favors, and when ex- 
posed to the strong temptation presented them by the pres- 
ence of such a magazine of treasure as a foreign ship, they 



NORTHERN RACES. 



431 



will generally indulge in pilfering. Those travellers who 
have been most familiar with the strange race, accord to them 
many pleasing qualities ; while their vices are such as must 
naturally result from their destitute and hopeless condition. 
Their whole history might prove unspeakably valuable to 
us did we wisely gather from it a lesson of content. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE KNISTENEAUX, CHIPPEWAS, ETC. 

The Knisteneaux, or Crees, are a nation materially 
different from the Esquimaux. They have a much nearer 
resemblance than that people to the other North Ameri- 
can tribes, and, from close analogies in language, are con- 
sidered as a branch of the great Algonquin stock, which, 
centering in the Canadas, spread over such an extent of 
the North American continent. 

The country formerly occupied by the Knisteneaux — for 
the ravages of the small-pox have in late years miserably 
reduced their numbers — is of vast extent; lying between 
the United States and the Esquimaux region, and extend- 
ing westward to the Eocky Mountains. The line of their 
occupation is thus given by Mackenzie : Commencing with 
the coast of Labrador, it extends along the north bank of 
the St. Lawrence, to Montreal. "The line then follows 
the Utawas river to its source ; and continues from thence 
nearly west along the high lands which divide the waters 
that fall into Lake Superior and Hudson's Bay. It then 
proceeds till it strikes the middle part of the river Wini- 
pic, following that water through the Lake Winipic, to 
the discharge of the Saskatchawan into it; from thence it 
accompanies the latter to Fort George, when the line strik- 



"1 



432 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

ing by the head of the Beaver Eiver, to the Elk River, 
runs along its banks to its discharge in the Lake of the 
Hills; from which it may be carried back / east to the Isle 
a la Crosse, and so on to Churchill by the Mississippi. 
The whole of the tract between this line and Hudson's 
Bay and Straits, (except that of the Esquimaux in the 
latter,) may be said to be exclusively the country of the 
Knisteneaux." They were also to be found upon Eed 
Eiver, (which, after uniting with the Assinaboin, empties 
into Lake Winipeg,) and upon the south branch of the 
I Saskatchawan. 

These people possess all the ordinary characteristics of 
the American Indian ; the copper complexion, black flow- 
ing hair, well-proportioned limbs, and keen black eyes, i 
Travellers speak of the women as being far more attractive 
in personal appearance than the generality of squaws. Upon 
them devolves all the drudgery of domestic life, while the 
\ men devote their exclusive attention to hunting or war. 

We notice no very material variation, except so far as 
climate and the nature of their country have affected j 
their habits, between the dress, habitations, luxuries, cere- | 
monies, and general usages of the Knisteneaux, and the j 
I great body of our western Indians. They are spoken of as i 
of a friendly and hospitable disposition, and no more dis- 
honest in their dealings than other savages, although some j | 
have given them the reputation of being arrant thieves. 

Little of distinctive character attaches to the various j 
minor tribes of the north, until we reach the Esquimaux, j j 
with whom little or no commerce is held by these nations, j 
and with whom, from time immemorial, they have waged a 
desultory warfare. Mackenzie describes individuals and vil- 
lages of the Red-Knives, Beavers Indians, Dog-Bibs, Hares, 
Slaves, Duguthee Dines (quarrellers), and many others ; j 
but they have no history, and few noticeable peculiarities, j 

Those farthest north are of rather a lighter complex- j 




IJTDJJjrs tVJITCHIJfG FOR 



NORTHERN RACES. 



433 



ion than the inhabitants of more temperate climes, and ex- 
hibit the deteriorating influence of a life in a cold and 
desolate country. 

Some interesting details of the habits and character of 
the Dog-Kibs, are given in the account of Sir John Kich- 
ardson's Arctic Searching Expedition. They are rather a 
low order of the race, and have held sufficient intercourse 
with the whites to be aware of their own deficiencies and 
wants. They are nevertheless cheerful, and even hilari- 
ous, and exhibit little or none of that proud and stoical 
spirit which marks the more celebrated Indian nations. 

They are grossly improvident, although warned by re- 
peated and terrible experience of famine and suffering. 
When game is plenty, a scene of general waste and reple- 
tion is presented, to be followed by the utmost misery and 
want. In a country where the animals upon which the 
natives depend for subsistence are migratory and uncertain 
in their habits, such changes of condition must be of fre- 
quent occurrence. 

When accounts are brought of success on the part of 
the hunting parties, the whole population of a village put 
themselves at once en route to share the spoil. If the deer 
should have shifted their quarters before the arrival of the 
troupe, and the place of rendezvous be far from home, the 
return is accompanied with the greatest danger and dis- 
tress. Many of the aged and infirm are frequently left to 
perish under such circumstances. 

Of several families of this nation, with whom Macken- 
zie held some intercourse, he says: "They are a meagre, 
ugly, ill-made people, particularly about the legs, which 
are very clumsy, and covered with scabs. The latter cir- 
cumstance proceeds, probably, from their habitually roast- 
ing them before the fire. Many of them appeared to be 
in a very unhealthy state, which is owing, as I imagine, to 
their natural filthiness." 
28 



434 



$ INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



The Chippewas are spread over a vast region at the 
north, the limits of which it would, perhaps, be impossi- 
ble accurately to define. Mackenzie, writing about the 
year 1790, lays down the tract occupied by tribes who 
speak substantially the same language, as follows: "It 
begins at Churchill, and runs along the lines of separation 
between them and the Knisteneaux, up the Mississippi, to 
the Isle a la Crosse, passing on through the Buffalo Lake, 
Eiver Lake, and Portage la Loche: from thence it pro- 
ceeds by the Elk Eiver, to the Lake of the Hills, and goes 
directly west to the Peace Eiver; and up that river to its 
source and tributary waters; from whence it proceeds to 
the waters of the Eiver Columbia; and follows that river 
to latitude fifty-two degrees twenty-four minutes, north, 
and longitude one hundred and twenty-two degrees fifty- 
four minutes west, where the Chepewyans have the Atnah 
or Chin nation for their neighbours. It then takes a due 
line west to the sea-coast." 

The coast Indians, on the Pacific, differ from those of 
whom we are now treating. In the vicinity of Bhering's 
Straits, they are Esquimaux, but as we proceed southward, 
we find distinct and separate races. 

The Chippewas, according to the writer above-quoted, 
are a quiet peaceable race, of a timorous disposition and 
wandering habits. They take great pains to prepare their 
dress so as to resist the extreme cold, and so well are they 
protected in this respect, that when arrayed in the warm 
furs and skins which form the winter attire, one of the 
tribe "will lay himself down on the ice in the middle of a 
lake, and repose in comfort ; though he will sometimes find a 
difficulty in the morning to disencumber himself of the snow 
drifted on him during the night." The women are not bad- 
looking, but the hard service of drawing loaded sledges, and 
the continued necessity of wearing the bulky and ponderous 
snow-shoe, give them a shuffling and awkward gait. 



NORTHERN RACES. 



435 



Great ingenuity and skill are displayed by the Chippe- 
was, particularly by those dwelling upon the head-waters 
of the Mississippi, in the construction of their birch-bark 
canoes. Probably in no other part of the world are boats 
to be found so light and portable, and yet capable of car- 
rying an equal burden. They are commonly made of a 
single roll of the bark, neatly and strongly sewed, and so 
shaped, by the adaptation of light thwarts or braces, as to 
be both graceful and swift. It requires, however, no little 
adroitness to manage one of these light crafts, as the weight 
of the canoe is so trifling as to aid very little in the pre- 
servation of equilibrium. Sketches of Chippewa canoes 
are given by Mr. Catlin, and contrasted with the awkward 
tubs of the Mandans. 

Mackenzie says that these people are not like the Knis- 
teneaux and most other North American Indians, reserved 
and distant in their communications with strangers or with 
each other after a long separation ; and that they do not 
exhibit those extremes of alternate energy and indolence 
so noticeable in other races. 

In such a country as they inhabit their food must, of 
course, be almost entirely animal. They are more skilled 
in fishing, and in snaring deer, beaver, &c, than in the 
more active methods of securing game. Like the Esqui- 
maux, although they prefer their meat cooked, they can 
well make a shift to eat it without any preparation, when 
unable to procure fuel. On their journies, they are sup- 
ported by the nutritious and portable preparation called 
pemmican, which we have before mentioned as in use 
among the Esquimaux. It is made in the following man- 
ner : Thin slices of lean meat are dried over a fire, or by 
alternate exposure to sun and frost, and then pounded 
between stones. A quantity of boiling fat, equal to the 
mass of meat, is then poured upon it, and the whole is 
closely packed in bags or baskets. No salt or other con- 



436 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



diment is used in the operation, but, in some instances 
the pemmican is made savory by the addition of marrow 
and dried berries. 

Some of the men are observed to be furnished with a 
thick bushy beard; but, generally speaking, the custom 
of eradicating this appendage is common to the Chippe- 
was, as to most other of the Indian nations. Tattooing is 
common among both sexes, and serves as a distinguishing 
mark of the different tribes. 



VARIOUS NATIONS AND TRIBES 

BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SIOUX, OR DAHCOTAS, AND OTHER TRIBES OF THE SAME 
RACE : CLASSIFICATION—THE MANDANS : THEIR NUMBER, 
SITUATION, VILLAGES, ETC. THEIR CEMETERIES- 
AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD. 

An accurate classification of the American Indians, 
either founded upon dissimilarities in the language of dif- 
ferent tribes, or upon differences in physical peculiarities, 
is impossible, particularly in treating of the scattered and 
wandering people of the far west. The races vary by 
such slight shades of distinction, and such analogies exist 
between their languages, that even where the distinction 
is perfectly evident in the nation at large, the line of de- 
marcation can with difficulty be drawn. In other instances, 
the same nation, when divided into separate clans, inhabit- 
ing districts of dissimilar nature, and resorting to different 
modes of life, will be found, in the course of one or two 
generations, to present the appearance of distinct races. 

Perhaps it would be wiser to accept the popular divisions, 
whether derived directly from the natives, or established 
by those most familiar with them, than to attempt any 
refined distinctions. In an essay upon natural history, 
or in researches into historical antiquities, a particularity 
might be useful or necessary, which in an outline of his- 
tory and description would be but perplexing and tedious. 



438 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

A vast wilderness at the west, upon the Missouri and the 
upper western tributaries of the Mississippi, is inhabited 
bj the various tribes allied to the Sioux or Dahcotah. One 
of the earliest accounts given of these people, then known 
as the ISTaudowessies, is to be found in the travels of Cap- 
tain Jonathan Carver, who spent the winter of 1766-7 
among them. Of later observations and descriptions, by 
far the most interesting and complete are contained in the 
published letters of Mr. George Catlin, accompanied as they 
are by spirited and artistic portraits and sketches of scenery. 

Those of this race known as the proper Sioux, soi disant 
Dahcotas, are mostly established upon the river of St. Peter 
and in the country adjacent. Some of the eastern tribes 
are more or less agricultural, but the others are wild hunt- 
ers like their brethren of the far west. The Sioux were 
divided, a century since, into the following eight tribes : the 
Wawpeentowas, the Tintons, the Afracootans, the Maw- 
haws (Omawhas), and the Schians, all of whom dwelt in 
the priarie country, upon the St. Peter, and three other 
clans of the then unexplored region to the westward. The 
Assinaboins anciently belonged to the same stock. 

By Mr. Gallatin the race is divided as follows: "1, The 
Winnebagos, of Wisconsin; 2, The Sioux proper, or Dah- 
cotas, and the Assinaboins; 3, The Minetari and tribes 
allied to them; 4, The Osages, and other kindred tribes," 
farther south.— (Pritchard's Natural History of Man). The 
Minetari are held to include the Crows and the Mandans. 

To a description of this last people, now, as a separate 
race, entirely extinct, Mr. Catlin has devoted no small 
portion of his interesting descriptions of western adventure. 
They differed widely from all other American Indians in 
several particulars. The most noticeable of these were the 
great diversity in complexion and in the color and texture 
of the hair. When visited by this traveller, in 1832, the 
Mandans were established at two villages, only two miles 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



439 



asunder, upon the left bank of the Missouri, about two 
hundred miles below the mouth of the Yellowstone. 

There were then not far from two thousand of the tribe, 
but, from their own traditions, and from the extensive 
ruins of their former settlement— some distance below— it 
was evident that their numbers had greatly decreased. 
The principal town was strongly fortified upon the pre- 
cipitous river bank, on two sides defended by the winding 
stream, and on the other by piqueting of heavy timber, 
and by a ditch. The houses within were so closely set as 
to allow of little space for locomotion. They were par- 
tially sunk, in the ground, and the roofs were covered 
with earth and clay to such a depth and of such consis- 
tency that they afforded the favorite lounging places for 
the occupants. 

"One is surprised," says Catlin, "when he enters them, 
to see the neatness, comfort, and spacious dimensions of 
these earth-covered dwellings. They all have a circular 
form, and are from forty to sixty feet in diameter. Their 
foundations are prepared by digging some two feet in the 
ground, and forming the floor of earth, by levelling the 
requisite size for the lodge." The building consisted of a 
row of perpendicular stakes or timbers, six feet or there- 
about in height, supporting long rafters for the roof. A 
hole was left in the center for air, light, and the escape of 
smoke. The rafters were supported m the middle by 
beams and posts: over them was laid a thick coating of 
willow brush, and over all the covering of earth and clay. 
An excavation in the centre of the hut was used as a fire- 
place. Each of these houses served for a single family, or 
for a whole circle of connections, according to its dimen- 
sions. The furniture consisted of little more than a rude 
sort of bedsteads, with sacking of buffalo skin, and some- 
times an ornamental curtain of the same material. Posts 
were set in the ground, between the beds, provided with 



440 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



pegs, from which depended the arms and accoutrements 
of the warriors. 

" Tnis arrangement of beds, of arms, &c," continues our 
author, " combining the most vivid display and arrange- 
ment of colours, of furs, of trinkets— of barbed and glist- 
ening points and steel— of mysteries and hocus pocus, 
together with the sombre and smoked colour of the roof 
and sides of the lodge; and the wild, and rude, and red— 
the graceful (though uncivil) conversational, garrulous, 
story-telling, and happy, though ignorant and untutored 
groups, that are smoking their pipes— wooing their sweet- 
hearts, and embracing their little ones about their peaceful 
and endeared fire-sides; together with their pots and 
kettles, spoons, and other culinary articles of their own 
manufacture, around them; present, altogether, one of the 
most picturesque scenes to the eye of a stranger that can 
be possibly seen; and far more wild and vivid than could 
ever be imagined." 

If the sight within the dwellings was novel and striking, 
much more so was that which occupied the painter's atten- 
tion as he surveyed, from the roof of one of these domes, 
the motley scene of busy life without. In the centre of 
the village an open court was left for purposes of recrea- 
tion and for the performances of the national religious 
ceremonies. Upon the rounded roofs of the domicils 
numerous busy or^indolent groups were sitting or loung- 
ing in every possible attitude, while in the central area 
some were exercising their wild horses, or training and 
playing with their dogs. Such a variety of brilliant and 
fanciful costume, ornamented with plumes and porcupine 
quills, with the picturesque throng of Indians and animals, 
the closely crowded village, the green plain, the river, and 
the blue hills in the distance, formed a happy subject for 
the artist. 

Without the picket of defence, the only objects visible, 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



441 



of man's construction, were the scaffoldings upon which 
the dead were exposed. The manner in which the funeral 
rites of the Mandans were conducted, with the subsequent 
details, constitutes the most touching portion of the au- 
thor's narrative. The body of the dead person was tightly 
wrapped and bound up in fresh or soaked buffalo skins, 
together with the arms and accoutrements used in life, and 
the usual provision of tobacco, flint and steel, knife, and 
food. A slight scaffold is then prepared, of sufficient 
height to serve as protection from the wolves and dogs, 
and there the body is deposited to decay in the open air. 

Day after day those who had lost friends would come 
out from the village to this strange cemetery, to weep and 
bewail over their loss. Such genuine and long- continued 
grief as was exhibited by the afflicted relatives puts to 
shame the cold-heartedness of too many among the culti- 
vated and enlightened. When, after the lapse of years, 
the scaffolds had fallen, and nothing was left but bleached 
and mouldering bones, the remains were buried, with the 
exception of the skulls. These were placed in circles upon 
the plain, with the faces turned inward, each resting 
upon a bunch of wild sage ; and in the centre, upon two 
slight mounds, "medicine-poles" were erected, at the foot 
of which were the heads and horns of a male and a female 
buffalo. To these new places of deposit, each of which 
contained not far from one hundred skulls, "do these 
people," says Catlin, "again resort, to evince their farther 
affection for the dead — not in groans and lamentations, 
however, for several years have cured the anguish; but 
fond affections and endearments are here renewed, and 
conversations are here held, and cherished, with the dead." 

The wife or mother would sit for hours by the side of 
the white relic of the loved and lost, addressing the skull 
with the most affectionate and loving tones, or, perchance 
lying down and falling asleep with her arms around it. 



442 



INDIAN KACES OF AMERICA. 



Food would be nightly set before many of these skulls, 
and, with the most tender care, the aromatic bed upon 
which they reposed would be renewed as it withered and 
decayed. 



CHAPTER II. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND PECULIARITIES OF THE MANDANS — 

THEIR HOSPITALITY AND URBANITY THEIR CLEANLINESS 

OF PERSON THEIR DRESS PORTRAITS OF MANDAN CHIEFS 

CONTRAST BETWEEN THE WILD TRIBES AND THOSE OF 

THE FRONTIER MANDAN DOMESTIC USAGES GAMES 

AND DANCES TRAINING OF THE YOUTH THE GREAT 

ANNUAL RELIGIOUS CEREMONY- — THE MANDANS 
SUPPOSED TO BE OF WELSH DESCENT- 
ANNIHILATION OF THE TRIBE 
BY THE SMALL-POX. 

Unlike the other Indian tribes of the west, the Man- 
dans, instead of presenting a perfect uniformity in com- 
plexion, and in the color of the eyes and hair, exhibited as 
great diversity in these respects as will be noticed in a 
mixed population of Europeans. Their hair was, for the 
most part, very fine and soft, but in a number of instances 
a strange anomaly was observable, both in old and young, 
and in either sex, viz: a profusion of coarse locks of "a 
bright silvery gray," approaching sometimes to white. 

Some of the women were quite fair, with blue eyes, and 
the most symmetrical features, combined with a very at- 
tractive and agreeable expression. It does not appear 
probable that sufficient intermixture with European races 
had ever taken place to account for these peculiarities, and 
some authors appear quite convinced that these Mandans 
are the remains of a great people, entirely distinct from the 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



443 



nations around them. Of Mr. Catlin's researches and con- 
clusions respecting their origin, we shall take occasion to 
speak hereafter. 

In their disposition, the Mandans were hospitable and 
friendly; affectionate and kind in their treatment of each 
other; and mindful of the convenience and comfort of the 
stranger. Their figures were beautifully proportioned, and 
their movements and attitudes graceful and easy. Instead 
of the closely-shorn locks of some other races, they wore 
their hair long. The men were particularly proud of this 
appendage, and were at no small pains to arrange it in 
what they esteemed a becoming manner. It was thrown 
backward from the forehead, and divided into a number 
of plaits. These were kept in their position by glue and 

! some red-tinted earth, with which they were matted, at 
intervals. The women oiled and braided their hair, part- 

! ing it in the middle ; the place of parting was universally 

I painted red. 

I A greater degree of cleanliness was observable in their 
| persons than is common among savages. A particular 
location was assigned, at some distance from the village, 
I up the river, where the women could resort undisturbed j 
for their morning ablutions. A guard was stationed, at 
intervals, upon a surrounding circle of rising ground, to 
prevent intrusion. Those of both sexes and all ages were 
j excellent swimmers; scarcely was one to be found who 
! could not with ease cross the Missouri in this manner, 
i Their only boats were round tubs made by stretching buf- 
| falo-skins over a light frame-work. The form and capacity 
I of these clumsy water-craft, were strikingly similar to that 
: of the coracles used in Wales and upon other portions of 
i the coast of Great Britain. 

As an additional means of luxury, and as an efficient 
| remedy in case of sickness, a hut was devoted to the pur- 
pose of a steam-bath. This was effected by pouring water j 



4AA INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

upon heated stones, over which the patient was placed, 
wrapped in buffalo-robes, in a wicker-basket. The opera- 
tion was always followed up by a plunge into the river, 
and a subsequent rubbing and oiling of the body. Such 
a mode of treatment produced terrible effects, in after times, 
when the small-pox spread through the tribe. 

The dress of the Mandan warriors, although in its gen- 
eral fashion similar to that of the neighboring tribes, was 
singularly rich and elaborate. It was formed entirely of 
skins : a coat or hunting-shirt of buck-skin ; leggins and 
moccasins of the same material, beautifully fringed, and 
embroidered with porcupine quills ; and an outer mantle 
of the fur of a young buffalo, formed the principal equip- 
ment. The covering for the head was more elaborate, and 
was constructed, by all who could obtain the materials, of 
ermine skins, and feathers of the war-eagle. So high a 
value was set upon these head-dresses, that Mr. Catlin, after 
having bargained for the entire suit of a chief, whose por- 
trait he had just painted, was obliged to give two horses, 
of the value of twenty-five dollars each, for the crowning 
ornament. Some few chiefs had attained a height of au- 
thority and renown which entitled them to add to their 
head-dress a pair of buffalo-horns, reduced in size and 
weight, and arranged as they grew upon the animal. The 
custom was not confined to the Mandans, but a similar 
ornament is widely considered as symbolic of power and 
warlike achievements among the western Indians. 

Nothing could exceed the pride and delight of the chiefs 
of the tribe, after their first apprehensions at the novelty 
of the proceeding were allayed, at the sight of their own 
portraits, for which they were induced to sit by our author. 
He was constituted and proclaimed from the moment of 
the first exhibition, a "great medicine-man," and old and 
young thronged to see and to touch the worker of such a 
miracle. All declared that the pictures were, at least par- 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



445 



daily, alive: for from whatsoever side they were beheld, 
still the eyes were seen fixed upon the beholder. An idea 
was started, and obtained a temporary credence, that some 
portion of the life of the person represented must have 
been abstracted by the painter, and that consequently his 
term of existence must be shortened. It was moreover 
feared lest, by the picture's living after the death of the 
original, the quiet rest of the grave should be troubled. 

By a most ingenious and judicious policy in adopting a 
mode of explanation, suited to the capacity of his hearers, 
and by wisely ingratiating himself with the chiefs and 
medicine-men, Mr. Catlin succeeded in stilling the commo- 
tion excited by such suggestions and suspicions. He was 
held in high estimation, and feasted by the principal men 
of the tribe, whose portraits he obtained for his invaluable 
collection. 

It is only among such remote tribes as the one which 
forms the subject of our present consideration, that any 
adequate idea can be formed of the true Indian character. 
The gluttony, drunkenness, surliness, and " shiftlessness " 
of the degraded race, that has caught the vices of the 
white men, without aiming at his civilization, are strongly 
contrasted with the abstemiousness, self-respect, and native 
dignity of the uncontaminated. "Amongst the wild In- 
dians in this country," says Catlin, "there are no beggars — 
no drunkards — and every man, from a beautiful natural 
precept, studies to keep his body and mind in such a 
healthy shape and condition as will at all times enable 
him to use his weapons in self-defence, or struggle for the 
prize in their manly games." 

The usual custom of polygamy was universally practiced 
among the Mandans, by all whose rank, position and 
means enabled them to make the necessary arrangements, 
and pay the stipulated price for their wives. The girls 
were generally sold by their parents at a very early age, 



446 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



and, as among most barbarous nations, their fate was a life 
of toil and drudgery. Their time must be almost con- 
stantly employed in getting fuel, cultivating corn and 
squashes, preparing pemmican and other dried stores for 
winter, and in dressing and embroidering the buffalo-robes 
which their lord and master accumulated for trade with the 
whites. 

Notwithstanding this apparently degraded position, we 
are informed that the women were seemingly contented 
with their lot, that they were modest in their deportment, 
■ and that "amongst the respectable families, virtue" was 
"as highly cherished, and as inapproachable as in any 
society whatever." 

White traders among the extreme western tribes are 
said to be almost universally in the custom, from motives 
of policy, and perhaps from inclination, of allying them- 
selves to one, at least, of the principal chiefs, by a tempo- 
rary espousal of his daughter. In many instances they 
indulge in a plurality. This is a position greatly sought 
after by the young women, as they are enabled by it to 
indulge their native fondness for display, and are freed 
from the toil usually incident to their existence. 

The men and boys, leading a life of ease, except when 
engaged upon a hunt, practiced a great variety of games 
and athletic sports, some of them very curious and ori- 
ginal. Horse-racing, ball-playing, archery, &c. 3 never failed 
to excite and delight them. An endless variety of dances, 
with vocal and instrumental accompaniments, served for 
recreation and religious ceremonials. Every word and 
step had some particular and occult signification, for the 
most part known only to those initiated in the mysteries 
of "medicine." 

In times of scarcity, when the buffalo herds had wan- 1 
dered away from the vicinity, so far that the hunters dared 
not pursue them, for fear of enemies, the "buffalo dance" 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



447 



was performed in the central court of the village. Every 
man of the tribe possessed a mask made from the skin 
of a buffalo's head, including the horns, and dried as nearly 
as possible in the natural shape, to be worn on these occa- 
sions. When the wise men of the nation determined upon j 
their invocations to attract the buffalo herds, watchers were 
stationed upon the eminences surrounding the village, and 
the dance commenced. With extravagant action, and 
strange ejaculations, the crowd performed the prescribed 
manoeuvres: as fast as those engaged became weary, they 
would signify it by crouching down, when those without 
the circle would go through the pantomime of severally 
shooting, flaying, and dressing them, while new perform- 
ers took their place. Night and day the mad scene was 
kept up, sometimes for weeks together! until the signal 
was given of the approach of buffalo, when all prepared 
with joy and hilarity for a grand hunt, fully convinced 
that their own exertions had secured the prize. 

No less singular 'was the ceremonial resorted to when 
the crops were suffering for want of rain. A knot of the 
wisest medicine-men would collect in a hut, where they 
held their session with closed doors, burning aromatic herbs 
and going through with an unknown series of incanta- 
tions. Some tyro was then sent up to take his stand on 
the roof, in sight of the people, and spend the day in invo- 
cations for a shower. If the sky continued clear, he re- 
tired in disgrace, as one who need not hope ever to arrive 
at the dignity of a medicine-man. Day after day the per- 
formance continued, until a cloud overspread the skies, 
when the young Indian on the lodge discharged an arrow 
towards it, to let out the rain. From their earliest youth, 
the boys were trained to the mimic exercises of war and 
the chase. It was a beautiful sight to witness the spirit 
with which they would enact a sham fight upon the open | 
prairie. A tuft of grass supplied the place of the scalp- 



U8 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



lock, and blunt arrows of grass or reeck ^ 
sealping-knives, formed tlieir innocuous weapons '« If any- 
one saysCatlm, '-is struck with an arrow on any vital 
part of Ins body, he is obliged to fall, and his adversary 
rushes up to him, places his foot upon him, and snatch^ 
from his belt his wooden knife, grasps hold of his victim's 
scalpdock of grass, and making afeint at it with his wooden 
knife, snatches it off and puts it into his belt, and enters 
again into the ranks and front of battle." 

This was the true mode of forming warriors. The youth 
grew to manhood with the one idea that true dignity and 
glory awaited him alone who could fringe his Garment; 
with the scalps of his enemies. Some of the Mandate 
braves, even of their last generation, performed feat= of 
daring, and engaged in chivalrous combats, which will 
almost compare with the deeds of Piskaret or Hiadeoni in 
the early history of the Iroquois. 

At the risk of seeming to linger too lone over the historv 
and customs of a single tribe, few in numbers, and now 
extinct, we will give some description of the strange reli- 
gious ceremony which occupied four davs of each returning 
year. The religious belief of the Mandans was in flic 
mam, not unlike that of most North American aborigines 
but some of their self-torturing modes of adoration and 
propitiation of their deity were perfectly unique The 
grand four days' ceremony had, according to Catlin. three 
distinct objects ; a festival of thanksgiving for the escape 
of their ancestors from the flood! of which they had a 
distinct tradition, strikingly conformable to scriptural 
history; for the grand « bull-dancey to draw the buffalo 
herds towards the settlement; and to initiate the youno 
men, by terrible trials and tortures, into the order of war- 
nors and to allow those whose fortitude had been fulh 
tested to give renewed proofs of their capacity of endur- 
ance, and their claim to the position of chiefs and leaders 




INDIAN WAR-DANCE. 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



U9 



The period for the ceremony was that in which the 
leaves of the willow on the river bank were first fully 
opened; "for, according to their tradition," says Catlin, 
" 'the twig that the bird brought home was a willow bongh, 
and had full grown leaves upon it,' and the bird to 
which they allude is the mourning or turtle-dove, which 
they took great pains to point out to me," as a medi- 
cine-bird. The first performances bore reference to the 
deluge, in commemoration of which a sort of "curb or 
hogshead" stood in the centre of the village court, sym- 
bolical of the "big canoe," in which the human race was 
preserved. 

No intimation was given by the wise men, under whose 
secret management the whole affair was conducted, of the 
precise day when the grand celebration should commence; 
but at sunrise, one morning, Mr. Catlin and his white com- 
panions were aroused by a terrible tumult throughout the 
village. All seemed to be in a state of the greatest ex- 
citement and alarm, the cause of which was unexplainable, 
j as the object at which all were gazing was a single figure 
| approaching the village, from a bluff, about a mile distant. 
This personage soon entered within the inclosed space of 
the town : he was painted with white clay, and carried a 
large pipe in his hand. He was saluted by the principal 
men of the tribe as "ISTu-mohk-muck-a-nah (the first or 
only man," — in fact, none other than Noah himself) — who 
had come to open the great lodge reserved exclusively for 
the annual religious rites. 

Having superintended the preparation of the medicine- 
house, and leaving men busy in adorning it with willow 
boughs and sage, and in the arrangement of divers skulls, 
both of men and buffaloes, which were essential in the 
coming mysteries, Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah made the rounds 
of the village, repeating before every lodge the tale of the 
great deluge, and telling how he alone had been saved in 
. 29 



450 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEKICA. 



Ms ark, and left by the retiring waters upon the. summit 
of a western mountain ! 

At every hut he was presented with some cutting instru- 
ment, (such as was supposed to have been used in the 
construction of the ark,) to be thrown into the river as a 
sacrifice to the waters. 

Next day, having ushered the young men who were to 
go through the fearful ordeal of self-inflicted torture into 
the sacred lodge, and appointed an old medicine-man to the 
office of "O-kee-pah Ka-se-kah, (keeper or conductor of 
the ceremonies,") he took up his march into the prairie, 
promising to appear again on the return of the season in 
the ensuing year. 

The young warriors, preparatory to undergoing the tor- 
ture, were obliged, until the fourth day from their entry 
into the lodge, to abstain from food, drink, or sleep!— 
Meanwhile, various strange scenes were enacted in the cen- 
tral area before the house. The grand buffalo-dance, a 
performance combining every thing conceivable of the gro- 
tesque and extravagant, was solemnly performed to insure 
a favorable season for the chase. 

On the fourth day commenced the more horrible portion 
of the exercises. Mr. Catlin, as a great medicine-man, was 
admitted within the lodge throughout the performances, 
and had full opportunity to portray, with pen and pencil, 
the scenes therein enacted. Coming forward, in turn, the 
victims allowed the flesh of their breasts or backs to be 
pierced with a rough two-edged knife, and splinters of 
wood to be thrust through the holes. Enough of the 
skin and flesh were taken up to be more than sufficient 
for the support of the weight of the body. To these 
splints cords let down from the roof were attached, and 
the subject of these inflictions was hoisted from the 
ground. Similar splints were then thrust through the 
arms and legs, to which the warrior's arms, and, in some 



1 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 451 

cases, as additional weights, several heavy buffalo heads, 
were hung. 

Thus far the fortitude of the Indian sufficed to restrain 
all exhibition of pain ; while the flesh was torn with the 
rude knife, and the wooden skewers were thrust in, a 
pleasant smile was frequently observable on the young 
warrior's countenance ; but when in the horrible position 
above described, with his flesh stretched by the splints till 
it appeared about to give way, a number of attendants 
commenced turning him round and round with poles, he 
would "burst out in the most lamentable and heart-rend- 
ing cries that the human voice is capable of producing, 
crying forth to the Great Spirit to support and protect 
him in this dreadful trial." 

After hanging until total insensibility brought a tempo- 
rary relief to his sufferings, he was lowered to the floor, 
the main supporting skewers were withdrawn, and he was 
left to crawl off, dragging the weights after him. The 
first movement, with returning consciousness, was to sacri- 
fice to the Great Spirit one or more of the fingers of the 
left hand, after which the miserable wretch was taken out 
of the lodge. Within the court a new trial awaited him ; 
the last, but most terrible of all. An active man took his 
position on each side of the weak and mutilated sufferer, 
and, passing a thong about his wrist, urged him forward at 
the top of his speed in a circle round the arena. When, 
faint and weary, he sank on the ground, the tormentors 
dragged him furiously around the ring until the splints were 
torn out by the weights attached, and he lay motionless and 
apparently lifeless. If the splint should have been so deeply 
inserted that no force— even that of the weight of individ- 
uals in the crowd, thrown upon the trailing skulls — could 
break the integuments, nothing remained but to crawl off to 
the prairie and wait until it should give way by suppuration. 
To draw the skewer out would be unpardonable sacrilege. 



452 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



It is told of one man that he suspended himself from 
the precipitous river bank by two of these skewers, thrust 
through his arms, until, at the end of several days! he 
dropped into the water, and swam ashore. Throughout 
the whole ordeal, the chiefs and sages of the tribe critically 
observed the comparative fortitude and endurance of the 
candidates, and formed their conclusions thereupon as to 
which would be the worthiest to command in after time. 

With all these frightful and hideous sights before his 
eyes, or fresh in his recollection, our author still maintains, 
and apparently upon good grounds, and in honest sin- 
cerity, his former eulogium upon the virtues and nat- 
ural, noble endowments of these singular people. We 
have given, above, but a brief outline of the mysterious 
conjurations attendant upon the great annual festival: 
many of these lack interest from our ignorance of their 
signification. 

A favorite theme for theorists, ever since the early ages 
of American colonization, has been found in the endeav- 
or to trace a descent from the followers of the Welsh 
! voyager, Prince Madoc, to sundry Indian tribes of the 

j west. Yague accounts of Indians of light complexion, 
who could speak and understand the Welsh language, are 

j given by various early writers. They were generally lo- 
cated by the narrator in some indeterminate region west 
of the Mississippi, at a considerable distance above New 
Orleans, but no where near the Missouri. 

It is to be regretted that these ancient accounts are so 
loose and uncertain, as there can be no doubt but that they 
are founded upon striking and important facts. A list of 
Mandan words, compared with Welsh of the same signi- 
fication, has been made public by Mr. Catlin, in which the 
resemblance is so clear, that almost any theory would be 
more credible than that such affinity was accidental. This 
author traced remains of the peculiar villages of the Man- 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 453 

dans nearly to the mouth of the Missouri, and describes 
others of similar character to the northward of Cincinnati. 

He supposes that the adventurers, who sailed from Wales 
in the year 1170, and were never thenceforth heard from, 
after landing at Florida, or near the mouth of the Missis- ! 
sippi, made their way to Ohio; that they there became 
involved in hostilities with the natives, and were eventually 
all cut off, with the exception of the half-breeds who had 
sprung up from connection with the women of the coun- 
try ; that these half-breeds had at one time formed a pow- 
erful tribe, but had gradually been reduced to those whom 
we have described, and had removed or been driven far- 
ther and farther up the Missouri. The arguments upon 
which this hypothesis is based are drawn from a careful 
examination of ancient western fortifications ; from phys- 
ical peculiarities and the analogies in language above re- 
ferred to; from certain arts of working in pottery, &c; 
and from the remarkable and isolated position occupied by 
the tribe in question among hostile nations of indubitable 
aboriginal characteristics. The theory is, to say the least, 
plausible, and ably supported. 

In the summer of 1838, the small-pox was communi- 
cated to the Mandans from some infected persons on board 
one of the steamers belonging to a company of fur-traders. 
So virulent was the disease, that in a few weeks it swept 
off the whole tribe, except a few who fell into the hands 
of their enemies, the Eicarees. One principal reason for 
the excessive mortality is said to have been, that hostile 
bands of Indians had beset the village, and the inhabit- 
ants were consequently unable to separate, or to place the 
infected in an isolated position. 

The scene of death, lamentation, and terror is said by 
those who witnessed it to have been frightful in the ex- 
treme. Great numbers perished by leaping into the river, 
in the paroxysm of fever, being too weak to swim out. 



454 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Those who died in the village lay in heaps upon the floors 
of the huts. Of the few secured by the Eicarees who took 
possession of the depopulated village, nearly all were said 
to have been killed during some subsequent hostilities, so 
that now scarce a vestige of the tribe can be supposed to 
remain. 

The Mandans were probably all congregated at their 
principal village at the time of the great calamity: the 
other village was situated two miles below, was a small 
settlement, and was used, as we are led to infer, merely for 
a temporary "summer residence for a few of the noted 
families." 

Mr. Catlin adds the following items to his account of the 
j annihilation of this interesting tribe: "There is yet a mel- 
ancholy part of the tale to be told, relating to the ravages 
of this frightful disease in that country on the same occa- 
sion, as it spread to other contiguous tribes, the Minatar- 
rees, the Knisteneaux, the Blackfeet, the Chayennes, and 
the Crows ; amongst whom twenty-five thousand perished 
in the course of four or five months, which most appalling 
facts I got from Major Pilcher, superintendent of Indian 
affairs at St. Louis, from Mr. McKenzie. and others." 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



455 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SIOUX CONTINUED THEIR MODE OF LIFE MATERNAL AFFEC- 

TI0 N EXPOSURE OF THE AGED THE FAMOUS QUARRY OF RED 

PIPE-STONE NATURE OF THIS MATERIAL INDIAN SUPERSTI- 
TIONS RESPECTING IT— THE BISON OR BUFFALO HORSES OF 

THE INDIANS VARIOUS MODES OF HUNTING THE BUF- 
FALO WASTEFUL DESTRUCTION OF THE HERDS. 

The Sioux proper, known among themselves and by 
other Indian tribes as Dahcotas, are one of the most ex- 
tensively diffused nations of the west. From the Upper 
Mississippi, where they mingle with the northern race of 
Chippewas, to the Missouri, and far in the north-west 
towards the country of the Blackfeet, the tribes of this 
family occupy the boundless prairie. 

Those living on the Mississippi and St. Peter's rely 
partially, as we have mentioned, upon agriculture, and 
their proximity to the white settlements has changed, and 
too often degraded their native character. The more dis- 
tant tribes, subsisting almost entirely upon the flesh of the 
buffalo, clothed with skins, and using the native weapons 
of their race, still remain in a state of rude freedom and 
independence. Graphic descriptions of their wild life, 
their skill and dexterity in the chase, and innumerable 
amusing and striking incidents of travel, and portraitures 
of private and natural character, are to be found scattered 
through the pages of Catlin's interesting narrative. 

One of the most remarkable and touching traits of char- 
acter described by this author, as observable among the 
Sioux, is the strength of maternal affection. Infant chil- 
dren, according to the common custom of western Indians, 
are carried, for the first six or seven months of their ex 
istence, strapped immoveably to a board, the hands and 
arms being generally left at liberty. A hoop protects the 



456 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



child's face from injury in case of a fall, and the whole 
apparatus is often highly ornamented with fringe and em* 
broidery. This pack or cradle is provided with a broad 
band, which is passed round the forehead of the mother, 
sustaining the weight of the child pendant at her back! 
Those who have been most familiar with this mode of 
treatment generally approve of it as best suited to the life 
led by the Indian, and as in no way cruel to the child. 
After the infant has in some degree acquired the use of its 
limbs, it is freed from these incumbrances, and borne in the 
fold of the mother's blanket. 

"If the infant dies during the time that is allotted to it 
to be carried in this cradle, it is buried, and the disconso- 
late mother fills the cradle with black quills and feathers 
m the parts which the child's body had occupied, and in 
this way carries it around with her wherever she goes for 
a year or more, with as much care as if her infant were 
alive and in it; and she often lays or stands it against the 
side of the wigwam, where she is all day engaged with 
her needle-work, and chatting and talking to it as famil- 
iarly and affectionately as if it were her loved infant 
instead of its shell, that she was talking to. So lasting 
and so strong is the affection of these women for the lost 
child, that it matters not how heavy or cruel their load, or 
how rugged the route they have to pass over, they will 
faithfully carry this, and carefully, from day to day, and 
even more strictly perform their duties to it, than if the 
child were alive and in it."— {Letters and Notes of George 
Catlin.) 

What appears, at first glance, to be one of the most 
revolting and cruel customs of the migratory Sioux tribes, 
(a custom common to other western nations,) is the exposure 
of the old and infirm to perish, after they have become 
unable to keep up with the tribe. We are told, however, 
that dire necessity compels them to this course, unless they 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



457 



would — more humanely, it is true — at once put an end to 
the lives of such unfortunates. The old sufferer not only 
assents to the proceeding, but generally suggests it, when 
conscious that he is too weak to travel, or to be of any 
further service among his people. With some slight pro- 
tection over him, and a little food by his side, he is left to 
die, and be devoured by the wolves. 

Certain tribes of this nation, far up the Missouri, are in 
the habit of performing various ceremonies of self-torture 
in their religious exercises, somewhat analogous to those of 
the Mandans, but seldom, if ever, are they carried to such 
an extent as we have described in treating of that tribe. 

In the Sioux country, at the southern extremity of the 
high ridge, called the Coteau des Prairies, which separates 
the head-waters of the St. Peter's from the Missouri, is 
situated the far-famed quarry of red pipe-stone. Pipes of 
this formation are seen throughout the whole of the west, 
no other material being considered suitable. The district 
was formerly considered as a sort of neutral ground, where 
hostile tribes from far and near might harmoniously resort 
to supply the all-essential want of the Indian. Those 
versed in the mysteries of Indian heraldry have deciphered 
the distinguishing marks and escutcheons of a great num- 
ber of western nations, inscribed upon adjacent rocks. 
Of late years the Sioux have affected a monopoly in the 
products of this quarry, and it was not without the most 
vehement opposition that Mr. Catlin and his companions, 
led by curiosity to visit the remote and celebrated place, 
were enabled to make their way through the Indian set- 
tlements fallen in with on the route. 

Throngs of dusky warriors, at these stopping-places, 
would assemble to discuss, with great heat and excitement, 
the true motives of the strangers. The general impres- 
sion seemed to be that the travellers were government 
agents, sent to survey the locality for the purpose of appro- 



458 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



priation, and one and all expressed a determination to 
perish rather than relinquish their rights to this, their most 
valued place of resort. 

The stone is obtained by digging to a depth of several 
feet in the prairie, at the foot of a precipitous wall of 
quartz rocks. The whole geological formation of that 
district is described as exceedingly singular, and the pipe- 
stone formation is, itself, entirely unique. This material 
is "harder than gypsum, and softer than carbonate of 
lime;" it is asserted that a precisely similar formation has 
been found at no other spot upon the globe. The compo- 
nent materials, according to the analysis of Mr. Catlin's 
specimens, by Dr. Jackson, of Boston, are as follows: 
"water, 8,4; silica, 48,2; alumina, 28,2; magnesia, 6,0; 
carbonate of lime, 2,6; peroxide of iron, 5,0; oxide of 
manganese, 0,6." 

The Indians use the stone only in the manufacture of 
pipes; to apply it to any other use they esteem the most 
unheard-of sacrilege. From the affinity of its color to 
that of their own skins they draw some fanciful legend of 
its formation, at the time of the great deluge, out of the 
flesh of the perishing red men. They esteem it one of the 
choicest gifts of the Great Spirit. 

The following extracts from the speeches of some Sioux 
chiefs, through whose village Mr. Catlin passed on his way 
to the quarry, may serve to exemplify the veneration with 
which the stone was regarded. 

"You see," said one, (holding a red pipe to the side of 
his naked arm,) "that this pipe is a part of our flesh. 
The red men are a part of the red stone. ('How, how!')" 
an expression of strong approbation from the auditors. 

"If the white men take away a piece of the red pipe- 
stone, it is a hole made in our flesh, and the blood will 
always run. We cannot stop the blood from running. 
('How, how!') The Great Spirit has told us that the red 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



459 



stone is only to be used for pipes, and through them we 
are to smoke to him. ('How!')'' 

The next speaker pronounced the stone to be priceless, 
as it was medicine. Another, after a preliminary vaunt of 
his own prowess, and worthiness to be listened to, pro- 
ceeded: "We love to go to the Pipe-Stone, and get a 
piece for our pipes ; but we ask the Great Spirit first. If 
the white men go to it, they will take it out, and not fill 
up the holes again, and the Great Spirit will be offended. 
('How, how, how!')" 

Another— "My friends, listen to me! what I am to say 
will be truth. (' How !') I bought a large piece of the pipe- 
stone, and gave it to a white man to make a pipe; he was 
our trader, and I wished him to have a good pipe. The 
next time I went to his store, I was unhappy when I saw 
that stone made into a dish! ('Eugh!') 

"This is the way the white men would use the red pipe 
stone if they could get it. Such conduct would offend the 
Great Spirit, and make a red man's heart sick. (' How, 
how!')" 

Many of the pipes in use among the Sioux, and formed 
of this material, are shaped with great labor and nicety, 
and often in very ingenious figures. Those intended for 
calumets or pipes of peace, are gorgeously decorated, but 
even those in ordinary use are generally made as orna- 
mental as practicable. The cavity is drilled by means of 
a hard stick, with sand and water ; the outer form, with the 
carvings and grotesque figures, is worked with a knife. 

Various narcotic herbs and leaves, where tobacco is not 
to be obtained, are used for smoking, under the name of 
"knick-knick;" the same term is used among some south- 
ern Indians to denote a mixture of tobacco and sumach 
leaves. 

In the far west, both among the Sioux and other wild 
tribes, as the hunt of the buffalo is by far the most import- 



460 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

ant occupation of the men, we will devote some little space 
to a description of the habits of the animal, and the native 
modes of pursuing and destroying it. The buffalo, or 
bison of America, is found at the present day throughout 
no small portion of the vast unsettled country between our 
western frontier and the Kocky Mountains, from the south- 
ern parts of Texas to the cold and desolate regions of the 
north, even to latitude fifty-five degrees. No where are these 
animals more abundant, or in a situation more congenial 
to their increase, and the development of their powers, 
than in the western country of the Sioux. During certain 
seasons of the year, they congregate in immense herds, but 
are generally distributed over the country in small com- 
panies, wandering about in search of the best pasturage. 

They have no certain routine of migration, although 
those whose occupation leads to a study of their move- 
ments can in some localities point out the general course 
of their trail; and this uncertainty renders the mode of 
subsistence depended upon by extensive western tribes of 
Indians exceedingly precarious. 

The most valuable possessions of these races, and the 
most essential in the pursuit of the buffalo, are their horses. 
These useful auxiliaries are of the wild prairie breed, ex- 
tensively spread over the western territory, the descendants 
of those originally brought over by the Spaniards in the 
sixteenth century. They are small, but strong and hardy 
and superior in speed to any other of the wild animals of 
the prairie. Numbers of them are kept about the encamp- 
ment of the Indians, hobbled so as to prevent their straying 
away. Upon the open prairie the bison is generally pur- 
sued upon horseback, with the lance and bow and arrow 
The short stiff bow is little calculated for accurate marks- 
manship, or for a distant shot: riding at full speed, the 
Indian generally waits till he has overtaken his prey, and 
discharges his arrow from the distance of a few feet 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



461 



The admirable training of the horse, to whom the rider 
is obliged to give loose rein as he approaches his object 
and prepares to inflict the deadly wound, is no less notice- 
able than the spirit and energy of the rider. 

Such is the force with which the arrow is thrown, that 
repeated instances are related of its complete passage 
through the huge body of the buffalo, and its exit upon 
the opposite side. This near approach to the powerful and 
infuriated animal is by no means without danger. Al- 
though the horse, from instinctive fear of the buffalo's 
horns, sheers off immediately upon passing him, it is not 
always done with sufficient quickness to avoid his stroke. 
The hunter is said to be so carried away by the excitement 
and exhilaration of pursuit, as to be apparently perfectly 
reckless of his own safety ; trusting entirely to the sagacity 
and quickness of his horse to take him out of the danger 
into which he is rushing. 

The noose, or lasso, used in catching wild horses, is 
often left trailing upon the ground during the chase, to 
afford the hunter an easy means of securing and remount- 
ing his horse in case he should be dismounted, by the 
attack of the buffalo or otherwise. 

In the winter season it is common for the Indians of the 
northern latitudes to drive the buffalo herds from the 
bare ridges, where they collect to feed upon the exposed 
herbage, into the snow-covered valleys. The unwieldy 
beasts, as they flounder through the drifts, are easily over- 
taken by the hunters, supported by their snow-shoes, and 
killed with the lance or bow. Another method, adopted 
by the Indians, is to put on the disguise of a white wolf-skin, 
and steal unsuspected among the herd, where they can 
select their prey at leisure. Packs of wolves frequently 
follow the herds, to feed upon the carcasses of those that 
perish, or the remains left by the hunters. They dare not 
attack them in a body, and are consequently no objects of 



462 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



terror to the buffaloes; but, should an old or wounded an- 
imal be separated from the company, they collect around 
him, and gradually weary him out and devour him. 

When buffalo are plenty, and the Indians have fair op- 
portunity, the most astonishing and wasteful slaughter 
ensues. Besides the ordinary methods of destruction, the 
custom of driving immense herds over some precipitous 
ledge, where those behind trample down and thrust over 
the foremost, until hundreds and thousands are destroyed, 
has been often described. 

Even at seasons in which the fur is valueless, and little 
besides a present supply of food can be obtained by de- 
stroying the animal which constitutes their sole resource, 
no spirit of forethought or providence restrains the wild 
hunters of the prairie. Mr. Catlin, when at the mouth of 
Teton river, Upper Missouri, in 1832, was told that a few 
days previous to his arrival, a party of Sioux had returned 
from a hunt, bringing fourteen hundred buffalo tongues, 
all that they had secured of their booty, and that these 
were immediately traded away for a few gallons of whiskey. 
^ This author goes, at considerable length, into a calcula- 
tion of the causes now at work, which must, in his opinion, 
necessarily result in the entire extinction of these animals, 
and the consequent destitution of the numerous tribes that 
derive support from their pursuit. According to his rep- 
resentations, we " draw from that country one hundred and 
fifty or two hundred thousand of their robes annually, the 
greater part of which are taken from animals that are 
killed expressly for the robe, at a season when the meat is 
not cured and preserved, and for each of which skins the 
Indian has received but a pint of whiskey! 

Such is the fact, and that number, or near it, are annu- 
ally destroyed, in addition to the number that is necessarily 
killed for the subsistence of three hundred thousand In- 
dians, who live entirely upon them." 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 463 

When this extermination shall have taken place, if, in- 
deed, it should take place before other causes shall have 
annihilated the Indian nations of the west, it is difficult to 
conceive to what these will resort for subsistence. Will 
they gradually perish from sheer destitution, or, as has 
been predicted, will they be driven to violence and plunder 
upon our western frontier? 



CHAPTER IY. 

INDIANS OF THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES— THEIR SUMMER AND 
WINTER LODGES THE MEDICINE-BAG THE CROWS AND BLACK- 
FEET RACES HOSTILE TO THE LATTER TRIBE FORTITUDE OF 

A BLACKFOOT WARRIOR— THE CROW CHIEF ARAPOOISH AND 
HIS GUEST— INDIAN CONCEPTIONS OF A PERFECT COUNTRY 
STORY OF LORETTO AND HIS INDIAN WIFE— ADVEN- 
TURES OF KOSATO, A BLACKFOOT WARRIOR. 

Upon the Yellowstone, and about the head- waters of 
the Missouri, the most noted tribes are the Crows and 
Blackfeet. Bordering upon them at the north and north- 
east, are their enemies, the Ojibbeways, Knisteneaux, and 
Assinaboins, of some of whom brief mention has been 
made in former chapters. In 1834 the Blackfeet were 
computed to number over thirty thousand, but when the 
small-pox swept over the western country, in 1838, they 
were frightfully reduced. By the returns of 1850, they 
were represented as amounting to about thirteen thousand. 

As these Indians are among the farthest removed from 
the contaminating influence of the whites, and as the 
prairie abounds in all that is requsite for their subsistence, 
viz: horses and buffalo, they present fine specimens of the 
aboriginal race. They are of manly proportions, active, 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



and capable of great endurance : their dress is particularly 
comfortable and ornamental, bedecked with, all the em- 
broidery and fringes characteristic of savage finery. 

The style of dress, dwellings, means of subsistence, &c, 
among the Indians of the western prairies, is in many re- 
spects so similar, that we shall only avoid wearisome 
repetition by omitting minute descriptions in speaking of 
the different tribes. 

The summer lodge, necessarily made moveable to suit 
their migratory habits, is a tent of buffalo-skins, supported 
by pine poles brought from the distant mountains. These 
skins are neatly and substantially stitched together, and 
often highly painted and ornamented. The tent is trans- 
ported by tying the poles in two bundles, the small ends 
of which, bound together, are hung over the shoulders of a 
horse, while the butts trail upon the ground, loaded with 
the weight of the skins and other paraphernalia of the 
lodge. The dogs are also pressed into the same service, 
and loaded, in much the same manner, with as large a 
load as they can carry. 

The cold winter is passed in some spot protected by 
high bluffs or heavy timber, either in these skin lodges, 
or in rude wigwams of logs. 

It is among these remote races that we may still see 
many of the ancient superstitious observances (formerly, 
with slight variation, common to nearly the whole popu- 
lation of the west,) retained with all their original solem- 
nity. One of the most singular and universal is the 
preparation of a "medicine-bag," which every man carries 
with him upon all occasions, as being intricately involved 
with his own safety and success in war, hunting, or any of 
the occupations of life. At about the age of puberty the 
Indian boy bethinks himself of taking the necessary steps 
for the preparation of this mysterious amulet or charm. 
He retires to some solitary spot, where he spends several 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



465 



days, lying upon the ground, taking no nourishment, and 
employed in continual fervent invocations to the Great 
Spirit. Falling asleep in this condition, he notes particu- 
larly what bird or animal first occurred to his mind in 
dreams. He then returns home, and, after recruiting his 
strength, busies himself in the pursuit of the creature 
until he has secured a specimen. This accomplished, he 
dresses the skin, stuffs it with moss or some other light 
substance, and devotes his attention to bedecking it with 
the most elaborate ornament. 

This medicine-bag can be procured at no price, and the 
loss of it, even in the heat of battle, is a signal disgrace, 
only to be wiped out by the seizure of a similar charm 
from a slaughtered enemy. " These curious appendages," 
says Oatlin, "to the persons or wardrobe of an Indian, are 
sometimes made of the skin of an otter, a beaver, a musk- 
rat, a weazel, a racoon, a pole-cat, a snake, a frog, a toad, 
a bat, a mouse, a mole, a hawk, an eagle, a magpie, or a 
sparrow; — sometimes of the skin of an animal so large as 
a wolf; and at others, of the skins of the lesser animals, 
so small that they are hidden under the dress, and very 
difficult to be found, even if searched for." 

The strange and hideous conjurations of the medicine- 
men or necromancers, who perform their ceremonies about 
the sick or dying with a view to their relief, may be here 
seen in their utmost extravagance. 

The Crows are far inferior in numbers to the Blackfeet, 
with whom they are engaged in perpetual warfare. They 
inhabit the country adjacent to the Yellowstone, as far 
westward as the foot of the Eocky Mountains. They are 
a fine race, physically speaking; their average height is 
greatly beyond that of any of the neighboring tribes, and 
they are models of activity and strength. They have been 
characterized as a lawless, thieving horde of savages ; but 
those best acquainted with their character and disposition, 
30 

1 — i 



8 



466 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



speak of them as honest and trust-worthy, and excuse 
the depredations of which they have from time to time 
been guilty, as having generally resulted from gross pro- 
vocation. From whatever cause, and whichever race may 
have been the most in fault, it is certain that the two 
wild tribes of which we are now speaking have been, from 
the earliest periods in which Europeans have penetrated 
their territory, objects of terror to traders and trappers. 

One distinguishing peculiarity of these Indians, is the 
extraordinary length of their hair, which is cherished and 
cultivated as an ornament, until it sweeps the ground after 
them. This profusion is to be seen in no tribe except the 
Crows, although some of their neighbors endeavor to imi- 
tate it, by glueing an additional length to their natural hair. 

The Crows speak a different language from the Black- 
feet, and, as we have mentioned, are continually at war 
With that tribe. They only number about four thousand, 
and are consequently at great disadvantage in these 
hostilities. 

The smaller Minitari tribes, between the mouth of the 
Yellowstone and the site of the Mandan villages, and the 
extensive nation of the Grros Ventres, inhabiting the east- 
ern slope of the Eocky Mountains, speak the same lan- 
guage with the Crows, or one very nearly allied to it. The 
Arapahoes, numbering some three thousand, and dwelling 
about the sources of the Platte and Arkansas rivers, belong 
to the race of the Blackfeet. 

The latter nation, besides their enemies at the East, have 
had, from an indefinite period, to contend with the Flat- 
head and other tribes still farther westward. The descent 
of these remote bands upon the plains in pursuit of buffalo 
has ever been deemed by the Blackfeet a signal infringe- 
ment of their rights, and fierce battles often result from 
the conflicting claims of the rival nations. Although 
other game abounds in the mountain districts inhabited 



:--d 



TKIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



467 



by some of these tribes, nothing possesses such attractions 
for them as the buffalo-hunt, and they are ready to incur 
any peril rather than relinquish this favorite pursuit. 

The Kez-Perces or Pierced-Nose Indians, the Flat-heads, 
and the Pends Oreilles or Hanging Ears, of the Eocky 
Mountains and their western slopes, and of the plains 
drained by the sources of the Columbia, are at continual and 
deadly feud with the Black feet. These latter seem, indeed, 
to have their hands against every man, with the exception 
of their kindred Arapahoes, to whom they make periodi- 
cal visits of friendship. 

Of the skirmishes between war-parties of these hostile 
tribes, their forays into each other's territory, and the ex- 
ploits of their most redoubted warriors, many striking 
tales are told by the traders and trappers who visit these 
remote regions. In Mr. Irving's admirable publication, 
"The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U. S. A., in the 
Eocky Mountains and the Far West," arranged in the form 
of interesting and pleasing narrative, from the captain's 
manuscripts and other sources, are details of various inci- 
dents illustrative of the character and habits of these tribes, 
so told as to attract the attention of the reader, and to leave 
a vivid impression upon the mind. 

In Cox's "Adventures on the Columbia Eiver," fright- 
ful descriptions are given of the cruelties practiced by 
the Flat-heads upon some Blackfoot prisoners who had 
fallen into their hands. Such proceedings appeared utterly 
variant from the natural disposition of those Indians, and 
only serve to show to what lengths usage, a spirit of re- 
taliation, and natural antipathy, may carry a people whose 
general character is gentle and kindly. 

The author particularly describes the endurance of one 
of the Blackfoot braves, upon whom every species of tor- 
ture was tried in vain attempts to overcome his fortitude. 
He exulted over his tormentors, vaunting his own deeds 



463 



IXLIAX RACES OF AMERICA. 



in the following language: "'My heart is strong.— You 
do not hurt me,— You can't hurt me.— You are fools.— 

You do not know how to torture— Try it again. I don't 

feel any pain yet— We torture your relations a great deal 
better, because we make them cry out loud, like little 
children.— You are not brave: you have small hearts, and 
you are always afraid to fight.' Then, addressing one in 
particular, he said, 'It was by my arrow you lost your 
eye;' upon which the Flat-head darted at him, and with a 
knife, in a moment scooped out one of his eyes: at the 
same time, cutting the bridge of his nose nearly in two. 
This did not stop him: with the remaining eve he looked 
sternly at another, and said, < ; I killed your brother, and I 
scalped your old fool of a father/ The warrior to whom 
this was addressed instantly sprung at him, and severed the 
scalp from his head." 

The chief restrained this enraged warrior from termin- 
ating the sufferings of the victim by a blow ; but was, him- 
self, immediately afterwards so exasperated by his taunts 
and insults, that he could not withhold his own hand, and 
shot the mangled wretch through the heart. 

Of the Crow character, a very singular trait is exhibited 
in an adventure of a noted trapper, Mr. Robert Campbell, 
as given in Mr. Irving's work, above mentioned. This 
traveller was upon one occasion hospitably entertained by 
the celebrated Crow chief, Arapooish, in whose tent he 
had deposited a large bundle of valuable furs. The greater 
part of his stores was buried in the ground for safetv. 

The old chief ascertained, during Campbell's stay, that 
his guest had made a -cache," (the French term applied to 
such places of concealment,) and that some of his own 1 1 
tribe had discovered and plundered it. The number of 
beaver-skins stolen was one hundred and fifty. 

^ Arapooish immediately assembled all the" men of the 
village, and after making a speech, in which he vehemently 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 469 

declaimed against their bad faith towards the stranger, 
vowed that he would neither touch food nor drink until 
complete restoration should be made. He then took his 
seat with the trapper in his wigwam, and awaited the re- 
sult, desiring his companion to make no remarks if the 
skins were brought, but simply to keep account of them. 

More than a hundred of the stolen articles were brought 
in before night, but notwithstanding Campbell's expressions 
of satisfaction, the old Indian would neither eat nor drink 
throughout that night and the next day. The skins slowly 
made "their appearance, "one and two at a time through- 
out the day; until but a few were wanting to make the 
number complete. Campbell was now anxious to put an 
end to this fasting of the old chief, and again declared that 
he was perfectly satisfied. Arapooish demanded what 
number of skins were yet wanting. On being told, he 
whispered to some of his people, who disappeared. After 
a time the number were brought in, though it was evident 
they were not any of the skins that had been stolen, but 
others gleaned in the village." 

Arapooish then broke his fast, and gave his guest much 
wholesome advice, charging him always, when he visited 
a Crow village to put himself and his goods under protec- 
tion of the "chief. Of Campbell's conclusions upon the 
character of the race, Mr. Irving says: '"He has ever since 
maintained that the Crows are not so black as they have 
been painted. 'Trust to their honor,' says he, 'and you 
are safe; trust to their honesty, and they will steal the 
hair off your head.' " 

The manner in which old Arapooish enlarged upon the 
natural advantages of the Crow country in conversation 
with Mr. Campbell is too quaint to be passed over. He 
averred that it was located in precisely the right spot for 
the security of all that was desirable in life, and the avoid- 
ance of its usual trials and wants. He enlarged upon the 



470 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



cold of the north, where dogs must take the place of horses ; 
and upon the barren and arid plains of the south, replete with 
pestilential vapors. At the west, he said, " On the Colum- 
bia, they are poor and dirty, paddle about in canoes, and 
eat fish. Their teeth are worn out; they are always tak- 
ing fish-bones out of their mouths. Fish is poor food. 
" To the east, they dwell in villages ; they live well ; but 
| they drink the muddy water of the Missouri— that is bad. 
A Crow's dog would not drink such water. 

"About the forks of the Missouri is a fine country ; good 
water; good grass; plenty of buffalo. In summer it is 
almost as good as the Crow country; but in winter it is 
cold; the grass is gone; and there is no salt- weed for the 
horses." — {Bonneville^ A dventures) 

Then followed an enthusiastic enumeration of the bless- 
ings enjoyed by the Crows; the variety of climate; the 
abundance of game; the winter resources for man and 
beast; and the relief from the heat of summer afforded by 
the cool breezes and fresh springs of the mountains. 

In a former chapter, we have devoted some little space 
to illustrations, from Mr. Catlin's letters, of the strength of 
parental affection among the Western Indians, particularly 
the Sioux: in the work last cited are numerous anecdotes 
exemplifying, in a manner equally forcible, the enduring 
and powerful attachment often noticeable between the 
sexes; and this not only among the Indians alone, but 
where they have intermarried with whites. 

One of these instances was as follows : " Among the free 
trappers in the Eocky Mountain band was a spirited youno- 
Mexican, named Loretto; who, in the course of his wan° 
clerings, had ransomed a beautiful Blackfoot girl from a 
band of Crows, by whom she had been captured. He made 
her his wife, after the Indian style, and she had followed 
his fortunes ever since with the most devoted affection." 
^ The company, one day, fell in with a numerous party 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



471 



of Blackfoot warriors, and the preliminary steps were 
taken for a parley, and for smoking the calumet, in token 
of peace. At this moment, Loretto's Indian wife perceived 
her own brother among the band. "Leaving her infant 
with Loretto, she rushed forward and threw herself upon 
her brother's neck; who clasped his long-lost sister to his 
heart, with a warmth of affection bnt little compatible with 
the reputed stoicism of the savage." 

Meanwhile, Bridger, one of the trapper leaders, ap- 
proaching the Blackfeet, from an imprudent excess of 
caution, cocked his rifle just as he came up with them. 
The Indian chief, who was in the act of proffering a 
friendly salutation, heard the click of the lock, and all his 
native fury and suspicion were instantly aroused. He 
sprang upon Bridger, forced the muzzle of the rifle into 
the ground, where it was discharged, knocked him down, 
seized his horse, and rode off. A general, but disorderly 
fight ensued, during which Loretto's wife was hurried 
away by her relations. 

The noble young Mexican saw her in their power, vainly 
entreating permission to return, and, regardless of the 
danger incurred, at once hastened to her side, and restored 
the child to its mother. The Blackfeet braves admired his 
boldness, and respected the confidence which he had re- 
posed in them by thus venturing in their midst, but they 
were deaf to all the prayers of himself and his wife that 
they might remain together. He was dismissed unharmed, 
but the woman and child were detained. 

Not many months afterwards the faithful Loretto pro- 
cured his discharge from the company in whose service he 
was enlisted, and followed his wife to her own country. 
A happy reunion took place, and the loving pair took up 
their residence at a trading-house among the Blackfeet, 
where the husband served as interpreter between the In- 
dians and white traders. 

I 



472 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



Another tale of Indian love and rivalry is that of a 
Blackfoot warrior, named Kosato, residing among the 
Nez-Perces when that tribe was visited by Bonneville. 

He had fallen in love with the wife of a chief of his own 
tribe, and his affection was returned. According to his 
own positive asseverations, although they " talked togeth- 
er—laughed together— and were always seeking each 
other's society," they were "as innocent as children." 

The jealousy of the husband was at last completely 
aroused, and he visited his vengeance upon both the offend- 
ing parties. The wife was cruelly beaten, and sternly bid 
not even to bestow a look upon Kosato, while the youth 
himself suffered the loss of all his horses, upon which the 
chief had seized. Maddened with love and revenge, Kos- 
ato waited his opportunity; slew the object of his hate; 
and hastened to entreat his mistress to fly with him. At 
first she only wept bitterly, but finally, overcome by his 
persuasions, and the promptings of her own affection, she 
forsook her people, and sought, with her lover, an asylum 
among the peaceful and kindly Nez-Perces. 

Kosato was foremost in rousing up a warlike and manly 
spirit among the tribe of his adoption, but he found the 
disposition of his new allies far different from that of the 
hot-blooded Blackfeet and Crows. "They are good and 
kind," said he to Bonneville; "they are honest; but their 
hearts are the hearts of women." 

From these and numberless similar tales, it is sufficiently 
evident that the cloak of reserve in which the Indian wraps 
himself from the scrutiny of strangers, covers passions and 
auctions as fiery and impetuous as are to be witnessed in 
more demonstrative races. 



T HE DEER. 

Rkfork the spread of rivilis.ation in the New World, no small portion of its vast for- 
ests was, in popular parlance, -crowded with deer." No animal could have supplied 
the natives with a greater variety of comforts. The flesh furnished a palatable and whole- 
some food, of a nature easily preserved for times of want; the skin, dressed with or with- 
out the hair, was the principal material for clothing, bedding, &c. ; while the horns and 
intestines were used in the manufacture of various weapons for hunting or war. 




T H K B I S O JV; 
GENERALLY CALLED THK BUFFALO. 

The huge animals, whose general conformation is accurately represented in the above 
sketch, wander in herds of countless number., over the wilderness and prairies of the 
far West. As game, they are invaluable to the Indians, both for their flesh and the skins 
which form so considerable an article of traffic in the towns of the East. 

The bisons scatter widely over the priaries when feeding, but when they take up their 
hue of march, upon their periodical migrations, the whole herd proceeds in a compact 
mass, offering an easy opportunity for the most wasteful slaughter. 

The animal was formerly found as far East as the Hudson river, and Morton speaks of 
the descriptions given by the Indians of "great heards of well growne beasts that live 
about the pans of this lake (Ontario), such a* the Christian world (untile this discovery) 
hath not been made acquainted with." 



THE BLACK SQUIRREL, f. 
A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE ANIMAL OF NORTH AMERICA. 
It was considered by the Indians, no less than by their white successors, a very desir- 
able object of pursuit as an article of food. 

Squirrel-skins served also for various ornamental purposes in the manufacture of cloth- 
ing and decorations. 



THE GRIZZLY BE A R . 

No animal, upon the whole continent of America, is so dangerous and ferocious as the 
one here depicted. M. Boitard, in his " Pantheon Populaire," a descrij)iion of the ani- 
mals of the Jardin des Piantes, from which work the above skelch is taken, says: "The 
grizzly bear joins to the stupidity of the bear the ferocity of the jaguar, the courage of 
the tiger, and the strength of the lion. Of solitary habits, like other species of his race, 
he roams over the vast Indian territory of the North-west, inhabited by the wandering 
nations of the Back-Feet, Nes Perces, Kansas, Crows, <fcc." 

Astonishing tales are told of the prodigious strength, and implacable fury (of this ani 
mal. The huge bison is helpless in his grasp, and it is a common saying that, if a hunter 
comes within his reach, one of the two must die. The Indian hunters display great cour- 
age and resolution in the pursuit of this terrible enemy; an undertaking entered upon 
rather from pride and the hope of renown than from expectation of profit. 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



473 



CHAPTER V. 

TRIBES ON THE COLUMBIA AND ITS TRIBUTARIES THE NEZ-PERClSS 

THEIR RELIGIOUS CHARACTER THE WALLA-WALLAS — -THE 

CHINOOKS MODE OF FLATTENING THE HEAD THE 

BOTOQ.UE CANOES OF THE TRIBES ON THE 

LOWER WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA FISH- 
ING HOUSES OF THE FLAT-HEADS. 

The principal tribe dwelling within the vast ampitheatre 
drained by the Kooskooske, westward from the Blackfoot 
country, and across the Rocky Mountains, is that of the 
Nez-Perc£s or Pierced-Nose Indians. Proceeding down 
the riyer, we find numerous tribes, known, collectively, as 
Fiat-heads, although the physical peculiarity from which 
they derive their name is by no means universal. 

Upon the main southern branch, the Lewis Fork of the 
Columbia, or Snake river, dwell the Shoshonees, or Snake 
Indians, a race perhaps more widely disseminated than 
any other of the present descendants of the North Ameri- 
can aborigines. 

The JSTez-Perces are, as mentioned in a preceding chap- 
ter, a quiet, inoffensive people, although, when fairly 
aroused, they are not wanting in courage and efficiency. 
Their susceptibility to religious impressions is remarkable, 
and their patient reliance upon and sincere invocations to 
the Great Spirit, in times of want or danger, might shame 
the most enlightened nation. 

In a time of great scarcity, Captain Bonneville fell in 
with a party of these Indians, in a state of the utmost des- 
titution. They were subsisting upon wild rose-buds, roots, 
and other crude and innutritious food, and their ooly 
weapon was a single spear. With this they finally set out, 
on horse-back, upon what appeared to the whites an ut- 
terly hopeless expedition in search of game. They rode 




474 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

off, however, with cheerful confidence that their prayers 
would now be heard by the Great Spirit. The undertak- 
ing was successful, and the poor Indians freely shared the 
meat which they had secured among the hungry whites. 

The kind-hearted captain, from long observation of their 
character, became more and more enthusiastic in his ad- 
miration of the simplicity, benevolence, and piety of the 
tribe. Some rude conceptions of Christian doctrines and 
observances had, in earlier times, been disseminated among 
them, and they eagerly listened to such instruction upon 
these topics as Captain Bonneville was enabled to convey. 
In his own words: "Simply to call these people religious, 
would convey but a faint idea of the deep hue of piety 
and devotion which pervades their whole conduct. Their 
honesty is immaculate, and their purity of purpose, and 
their observance of the rites of their religion, are most 
uniform and remarkable. They are certainly more like a 
nation of saints than a horde of savages." 

There are two tribes of the Pierced-Nose. Indians, the 
upper and the lower: the first of these is that to which 
particular allusion has heretofore been made in connection 
with Blaekfoot hostilities. The Indians of the lower tribe 
subsist upon fish, and upon deer, elk, and other game of 
their own country. 

Bonneville gives them almost as good a character as 
their brethren, the upper tribe, pronouncing them "one of 
the purest-hearted people on the face of the earth." Other 
travellers and traders, who, probably in consequence of 
their own unscrupulous villany, have experienced dif- 
ferent treatment at the hands of these Indians, naturally 
enough set them down as dishonest and inhospitable. As 
one instance of their generosity and kind-heartedness : the 
captain's horse was recognized by one of the tribe as hav- 
ing formerly been stolen from himself. He proved owner- 
ship incontestibly, but voluntarily relinquished his claim, 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



475 



saying : "You got him in fair trade— yon are more in want 
of horses than I am: keep him; he is yours— he is a good 
horse ; nse him well." 

Further westward, upon the banks of the Columbia, 
below the mouth of the Lewis Fork, are found the Walla- 
wallas; they are not unlike the Pierced-Noses in general 
appearance, language, and habits. They are kind towards 
strangers, and in their deportment exhibit great decency 
and decorum. They have plenty of horses, and maintain 
the same border warfare with the Shoshonees that their 
neighbors farther up the river are constantly waging with 
the Blackfeet. The cause of hostility is similar, viz : a claim 
of right of hunting within the hostile territory ; in the one 
case, for the buffalo ; in the other, for the black-tailed deer. 

Passing over the Spokans, Cootonais, Chaudieres, Point- 
ed Hearts, &c, &c. 3 we will describe a little more at large 
the Chinooks, Flat-heads in reality, as in name, who dwell 
about the lower portions of the Columbia. The horrible 
deformity of the skull, which constitutes their chief phys- 
ical peculiarity, is produced by pressure upon the forehead 
of the infant while the bone is soft and pliable. The child 
is stretched upon its back, after the usual Indian fashion, 
and a bit of board or bark is so secured by strings that it 
can be tightened at pleasure, creating a steady pressure 
until the head is so flattened that a straight line can be 
drawn from the tip of the nose to the unnatural apex. The 
operation occupies from a few weeks to a year, or more, at 
the end of which time the skull is hardened, and never 
thereafter resumes its natural shape. The thickness of the 
broad ridge at the back of the head is little over an inch. 

This extensive displacement of the brain does not, as far 
as travellers have observed, effect any noticeable change 
in the faculties of the mind. It is an unaccountable cus- 
tom, and is persisted in as being an improvement upon 
nature; perhaps from the same ideal that suggested the 



476 



INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 



retreating forehead characteristic of the ancient sculptures 
of Egypt and Central America. Various tribes and nations 
of America were formerly in the habit of flattenin 2* the 
head, who have long since ceased so to mar their fair pro- 
portions. Even in South America, as we shall see here- 
after, skulls are still found bearing evident marks of this 
hideous distortion. 

Exclusive of the head, there is little particularly notice- 
able about the personal appearance of the Indians of the 
lower Columbia. The description given of them, particu- 
larly of their women, is by no means attractive. It would 
seem, from one of Mr. Catlin's illustrations, that a singular 
custom, generally considered as peculiar to the Brazilian 
Botocudos, is occasionally observable among them. He 
gives a sketch of a woman whose under-lip is pierced, and 
the aperture filled with a large wooden plug or button 
(termed the "botoque" in South America). 

Their most successful advance in the arts, is seen in the 
manufacture of their canoes. These, according to the 
description given in the history of Lewis and Clarke's 
travels, are often " upwards of fifty feet long, and will 
carry from eight to ten thousand pounds weight, or from 
twenty to thirty persons. * * They are cut out of a 
single trunk of a tree, which is generally white cedar, 
though the fir is sometimes used. * * When they em- 
bark, one Indian sits in the stern, and steers with a paddle; 
the others kneel in pairs in the bottom of the canoe, and,' 
sitting on their heels, paddle over the gunwale next to 
them. In this way they ride with perfect safety the high- 
est waves, and venture without the least concern in seas 
where other boats and seamen could not live an instant. 
They sit quietly and paddle, with no other movement, 
except when any large wave throws the boat on her side,' 
and to the eye of the spectator she seems lost: the man to 
windward then steadies her by throwing his body towards 



TKIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 477 

the upper side, and, sinking his paddle deep into the waves, 
appears to catch the water, and force it nnder the boat, 
which the same stroke pushes on with great velocity." 

They subsist principally upon fish, in taking which 
they are very expert. Their nets are made of silk-grass, 
or of the fibrous bark of the white cedar, as are also the 
lines used for angling. The hooks are procured from white 
traders, but in earlier times were manufactured from bone. 
Their houses are described as large and commodious : some 
of them are said by Cox to be "upwards of ninety feet 
long, and thirty to forty broad." The size of the beams 
used in the construction of these edifices, as well as that of 
the trunks of trees worked into canoes, is almost incredi- 
ble, considering the miserable tools and implements in 
their possession previous to European intercourse. 

Their household furniture and utensils are rude and 
simple ; in their primitive condition they boiled their fish 
in kettles of cedar wood, by means of heated stones thrown 
! into the water. The fire-place is a hole sunk in the floor, 
to the depth of about twelve inches, under the aperture in 
the roof left for the escape of smoke. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SHOSHONEES, OR SNAKE INDIANS THE SHOSHOKOES, OR ROOT- 
DIGGERS — EXTENT OF COUNTRY OCCUPIED BY THE SNAKES THE 

CAMANCHES *. THEIR HORSEMANSHIP, MODE OF LIFE, DWELLINGS, 
ETC.— THE PAWNEE PICTS THE NABAJOS AND MOQUES. 

Under various names,, and presenting a great variety 
in habits and appearance, according to the nature of the 
country they inhabit, the great race of Shoshonees is found 
scattered over the boundless wilderness, from Texas to the 



478 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Columbia. Their territory is bounded on the north and 
west by that of their hereditary enemies, the Blackfeet 
and Crows, the tribes allied to the great Dacotah or Sioux 
family, and the Indians removed westward from the 
United States. 

Those who dwell amid the rugged and inhospitable 
regions of the great Eocky Mountain chain, known as Shos- 
hokoes or Eoot-Diggers, are the most destitute and miser- 
able portion of all the North American tribes. They have 
no horses, and nothing but the rudest native implements 
for ^curing game. They are harmless, and exceedingly 
timid and shy, choosing for their dwellings the most re- 
mote and unexplored retreats of the mountains, whither 
they fly in terror at the approach of strangers, whether 
whites or Indians. "These forlorn beings," says Irving, 
"forming a mere link between human nature and the 
brute, have been looked down upon with pity and con- 
tempt by the Creole trappers, who have given them the 
appellation of l Ies dignes de pitie,' or 'the objects of pity.' 
They appear more worthy to be called the wild-men of 
the mountains." 

Although living in a climate where they experience 
great severity of cold, these miserable people are very 
insufficiently protected either by clothing or comfortable 
huts. Of a party seen by Bonneville upon the plain be- 
low Powder Eiver, that traveller remarks: "They live 
without any further protection from the inclemency of the 
season, than a sort of break- weather, about three feet high, 
composed of sage, (or wormwood,) and erected around 
them in the shape of a half-moon." This material also 
furnishes them with fuel. Many were seen carrying about 
with them a slow match, made of twisted bark. " When- 
ever they wished to warm themselves, they would gather 
together a little wormwood, apply the match, and in an 
instant produce a cheering blaze." 



TEIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



479 



They live principally, as their name implies, upon roots 
and a preparation of certain wild seeds ; but by the aid of 
their dogs — a lean and miserable breed — they catch rabbits 
and other small animals. They occasionally take ante- 
lopes by the following singular contrivance: An inclo- 
sure of several acres in extent is formed by piling up a 
row of wormwood brush, only about three feet in height. 
Into this the game is decoyed or driven and the entrance 
closed. The men then pursue the animals on foot, round 
and round the confined space, (fresh recruits entering upon 
the duty as the first become weary), until they are com- 
pletely tired down, and can be killed with clubs. The 
antelopes never attempt to leap over the frail barrier. 

Those Shoshokoes who live in the vicinity of streams, 
add to their supplies by fishing, and some of them are 
sufficiently skilful and provident to cure stores of fish for 
winter ; but in general the season of scarcity finds them 
wretchedly unprovided. ' ' They were destitute, " says Bon- 
neville, of a party encountered by him, "of the necessary 
covering to protect them from the weather; and seemed 
to be in unsophisticated ignorance of any other propriety 
or advantage in the use of clothing. One old dame had 
absolutely nothing on her person but a thread round her 
neck, from which was pendant a solitary bead." 

The Shoshonees, as distinct from the Boot-Diggers, 
although their condition varies greatly with their localhw, 
are a free, bold, and wandering race of hunters. In the 
buffalo plains their life is much like that of the Sioux, 
Blackfeet, Crows, &c. ; while in the less favored districts, 
among the mountains and deserts, they approach more 
nearly to their kindred Shoshokoes. The country inhabit- 
ed by them is of such vast extent, and has been so imper- 
fectly explored, that material for accurate classification of 
the Snake tribes is entirely wanting. Very interesting 
descriptions and anecdotes of these Indians are to be 



480 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



found in Colonel Fremont's notes of travel and explora- 
tions; in Mr. Schoolcraft's valuable compend of Indian 
historical and statistical information; and in the entertain 
mg adventures of Captain Bonneville. 

The whole region tenanted by the roving tribes who are 
included under the general title of Snakes, is thus laid 
down in Schoolcraft's above-mentioned publication : exclu- 
sive of those residing upon the Snake river, "they em- 
brace all the territory of the Great South Pass, between 
the Mississippi valley and the waters of the Columbia, by 
which the land or caravan communication with Oregon 
and California is now, or is destined hereafter, to be main- 
tamed. * * Under the name of Yampatick-ara, or Eoot- 
Eaters, and Bonacks, they occupy, with the Utahs, the vast 
elevated basin of the Great Salt Lake, extending south 
and west to the borders of New Mexico and California. 
Information recently received denotes that the language 
is spoken by bands in the gold-mine region of the 
Sacramento." 

The most noted branch of the whole family is that of the 
Camanches, "who have descended eastwardly into the Tex- 
an plains at unknown periods of their history." Analogy 
in language is all that attests the former unity of this 
nation with the Shoshonees. 

The Camanches inhabit a country where bisons and 
wild horses abound, and their general habits and mode of 
life are consequently very similar to those of the western 
Sioux and other races of the prairies. As bold and skill- 
ful riders, they are said to have no equals, at least in North 
America; some of their feats of horsemanship appear 
almost supernatural to a stranger. One of the most sin- 
gular of these is that of throwing the whole body upon 
one side of the horse, so as to be entirely shielded from 
the missile of an enemy, with the exception of the heel, by 
which they still maintain their hold, and are enabled to 



— . 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 481 



regain their seat in an instant. The manner in which this 
seemingly impossible position is retained, was ascertained 
by Mr. Catlin to be as follows: "I found," says he, "on 
examination, that a short hair halter was passed around 
under the neck of the horse, and both ends tightly braided 
into the mane, on the withers, leaving a loop to hang un- 
der the neck, and against the breast, which, being caught 
up in the hand, makes a sling into which the elbow falls, 
taking the weight of the body on the middle of the upper 
arm. Into this loop the rider drops suddenly and fear- 
lessly, leaving his heel to hang over the back of the horse, 
to steady him, and also to restore him when he wishes to 
regain his upright position on the horse's back." 

The Indian rider, as he sweeps, at full speed, past his 
enemy, in this unnatural attitude, is said to manage his 
long lance, and his bow and arrow, with nearly the same 
facility as if fairly mounted. He will discharge his arrow 
over the back of the horse, or even his neck I The Ca- 
manches, from constant horse-back exercise, have lost that 
agility and grace which characterize the North American 
Indian, in his natural state. They are awkward and un- 
gainly in their movements when on foot, but when mounted 
upon the animals that have become almost a part of them- 
selves, nothing can exceed the lightness and freedom of 
their posture and movements. The wild horses are taken, 
as usual, by the lasso, and are at first disabled by being 
"choked down," as it is termed. When the hunter has 
thus conquered and enfeebled his prize, he proceeds to tie 
his fore feet together, and, loosening the noose about his 
neck, takes a turn with it about the lower jaw, and com- 
pletes the subjection of the animal by closing his eyes 
with his hand and breathing in his nostrils. After this, little 
difficulty is experienced; the horse submits to be mounted, 
and is soon entirely under the control of his tormentor. 
The Indians are severe and cruel riders, and the ease of 
31 



482 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



supplying the loss of a horse prevents that regard for his 
safety and care for his welfare elsewhere furnished by self- 
interest. 

The Camanches are essentially a warlike race, and the 
whole history of the settlement and occupation of Texas 
is replete with tales of their courage and prowess. There 
seems to be reason to fear that difficulties will still con- 
tinue to arise between them and the white settlers of the 
country until the whole tribe, like so many in the older 
states, shall be driven from their territory or exterminated. 
Almost the only man who has ever been able to command 
their enduring admiration and respect, and to exercise a 
parental control over these wild rovers of the west, is the 
redoubted champion of Texan independence, General 
Houston. Numberless tales are told of the influence of 
his presence, or even his name, in quieting border trou- 
bles between whites and Indians. Xo one knows the 
Camanches better than Houston, and he gives abundant 
testimony to many excellent traits in their character. 
According to his representations, the generality of dis- 
turbances which have arisen upon their borders are attrib- 
utable rather to injustice and violence, on the part of 
the white settlers, than to the native ferocity or treachery 
of the Indians. 

The dwellings of the Camanches, like those of other 
prairie tribes, consist of tents of buffalo-skins, and are 
transported from place to place in the manner described 
in a former chapter. The tribe next adjoining them, the 
Pawnee Picts, living about the extreme head-waters of - the 
Eed River, on the borders of the Rocky Mountains, in- 
habit wigwams of poles thatched with prairie-grass, of 
very picturesque form and arrangement. These people 
are said to be entirely distinct from the Pawnees on the 
Platte river ; they are in a state of friendly alliance with the 
Camanches. Unlike the latter tribe, they cultivate large 



TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



483 



quantities of maize, beans, pumpkins, &c, and, what with 
their abundant supply of game, enjoy no little prosperity. 



In New Mexico, besides the Utahs, Apaches, and other 
Indian tribes heretofore mentioned, are two very singular 
communities : the Nabajos and Moques. The first of these 
lead a pastoral life between the rivers San Juan and Gila. 
They are spoken of in a communication of Governor 
Charles Bent, in 1846, as "an industrious, intelligent, and 
warlike tribe of Indians, who cultivate the soil, and raise 
sufficient grain and fruits of various kinds for their own 
consumption. They are the owners of large flocks and 
herds of cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and asses. It is 
estimated, that the tribe possesses 30,000 head of horned 
cattle, 500,000 head of sheep, and 10,000 head of horses, 
mules, and asses. * * They manufacture excellent coarse 
blankets, and coarse woolen goods for wearing apparel. 
* * * They have in their possession many men, women, 
| and children, taken from the settlements of this territory, 
whom they hold and treat as slaves. * * The Moques 
are neighbours of the Nabajos, and live in permanent vil- 
lages, cultivate grain and fruits, and raise all the varieties 
of stock." — (Schoolcraft's Historical and Statistical Informa- 
tion concerning the Indian Tribes). 

The Nabajos number from seven to fourteen thousand 
souls; the Moques between two and three thousand. The 
two tribes are at enmity with each other, and the Moques 
have been, by this cause, much reduced. 

The following description of the personal appearance 
of these Indians, (their names being corrupted into "Nab- 
behoes," and "Mawkeys,") is cited by Mcintosh, in his 
"Origin of the North American Indians," from the West- 
ern Democrat: we cannot undertake to vouch for its accu- 
racy. After describing the location of the smaller tribes, 



484 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



the article proceeds: "Not far distant from the Mawkeys, 
and in the same range of country, is another band of the 
same description, called Nabbehoes, a description of either 
of these tribes, will answer for both. They have been 
described to the writer by two men in whose veracity the 
fullest confidence may be placed: they say the men are 
of the common stature, with light flaxen hair, light-blue 
eyes, and that their skin is of the most delicate whiteness." 



INDIAN POPULATION 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES AND TERRITORY. 



According to the census taken, under the agency of 
Mr. Henry R Schoolcraft, in pursuance of the act of Con- 
gress passed in March, 1847, the following returns were 
made of the numbers of the Indian tribes subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States. 

The grand total was set down at 388,229, and about 
30,000 more was considered a probable estimate of tribes 
inhabiting districts yet unexplored. The "Ultimate Con- 
solidated Tables of the Indian Population of the United 
States," containing the results of the proposed investiga- 
tion, are given substantially as follows, in Schoolcraft's 
"History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes 
of the United States:" 

1. "Tribes whose vital and industrial statistics have been taken 
by Bands and Families, under the direction of the act of 
Congress," including Iroquois, Algonquins, Appalachians, and 
Eastern Sioux, 34,704 

2. "Tribes of the new States and Territories, South and West, 
including the acquisitions from Mexico, under the treaty of 
Guadalupe Hidalgo," viz: of Texas, New Mexico, California, 
Oregon, Utah, and Florida, and consisting of Camanches, 
Apaches, Utahs, Shoshonees or Snake Indians, &c. . . . 183,042 



486 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



3. Tribes between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, to the 
northward of Texas and New Mexico, viz: 

Assinaboins, south of lat. 49 deg. . 1,000 i Miamies, 500 

Arapahoes, 3,500 Missouris, 500 

Absarokes, or Crows, . . . 4,000 Munsees, 200 

Aurickarees, 1,500 Ottawas* west, . * ... 300 

Blackfeet, 13,000 Otoes, 500 

Blood Indians {few reach the Missouri) 500 Omahas, 2,000 

Brothertons, . . 600 Ogellahs, . . 1,500 

Oherokees, . 26,000 Pawnees, ...... 17,000 

Creeks, ...... 25,000 Poncas, ...... 700 

Chickasaws, 5,000 Pottawatomies, 3,200 

Choctaws, i 6) ooo Peorias, 150 

Cheyennes, ..... 2,500 Piankeshaws, ..... 200 

Caddoes ' 2,000 Quappas, 400 

Chippewas,west, and Red River, north, 1,500 Shawanees, ..... 1,600 
Cayugas and Iroquois, west, . . 30 Sioux of the Mississippi (not enume- 

Delawares, ..... 1,500 rated in No. 1), .... 9,000 
Foxes and Sacs, . .... 2,400 Sioux of the Missouii (not enumerated 

Gros Ventres, . .... 3,000 in No. 1), 5,500 

Kiowas, . , ; . . . . 2,000 Stockbridges, ..... 400 

Kickapoos, ..... 600 Seminoles, ...... 1,500 

Kanzas, ...... 1,600 Swan Creek and Black River Chippe- 

Kaskaskias, ..... 200 was (not enumerated in the Algon- 

Menomonies, 2,500 quin groupe), . . . . 200 

Mandans, (?) ..... 300 Tetans, ...... 3,000 

Minitarees, 2 ,500 1 Weas, ...... 250 

Within the old States are the following remnants of ancient tribes : 

Maine > = 956 j Virginia— Nottoways, mixed with the 

Massachusetts, ..... 847 African race, 40 

Rhode Island-Narragansetts, . 420 South Carolina-Catawbas, . . .200 

Connecticut-Mohegans, . . . 400 North Carolina-Catawbas, . . 250 

New York-Besides the Iroquois, be- < Together with Cherokees included in former 

fore enumerated, . . . . 40 1 table. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



TRIBES OF'THE WEST INDIES, 

AND THE NORTHERN PROVINCES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 

INDIANS FIRST SEEN BY COLUMBUS— LANDING AT GUANAHANI — 

NATIVES OF CUBA EMBASSY TO THE GRAND KHAN ! DISCOVERY 

OF HAYTI, AND INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES— GUACANA- 

GARI WRECK OF THE ADMIRAL'S VESSEL HONESTY AND 

HOSPITALITY OF THE NATIVE INHABITANTS— TRADE FOR 

GOLD BUILDING OF THE FORTRESS OF LA NAVIDAD 

DEPARTURE OF THE NINA THE CIGUAYANS DIS- 
ORDERS AND DESTRUCTION OF THE GARRISON AT 
LA NAVIDAD — FORT OF ST. THOMAS. 

At the time of the discovery of the New World by 
Columbus, the larger West India islands and the Baha- 
mas were, for the most part, inhabited by a kindly and 
simple-hearted race. Although living in the most prim- 
itive state of nature, unclothed, and 'possessed of only the 
rudest weapons and implements, they do not appear to 
have been deficient in intellectual capacity. The delight- 
ful climate of their country, and the spontaneous fruitful- 
ness of the soil, removed the ordinary incentives to labor 
and ingenuity. The rudest huts of branches, reeds, and 
palm-leaf thatch, with hammocks (originally the Indian 
word "hamacs") slung between the posts, fully sufficed 
for their dwellings. Protection from the rain was alone 
necessary. 



488 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

They were of good figure and proportion their foreheads 
were high and well formed, and the general cast of their 
countenance and conformation of their features agreeable 
and regular. 

The great admiral landed, for the first time since the 
days of "the Northmen" that any European had visited 
the Western World, at Gruanahani, San Salvador, or Cat 
Island, on the 12th of October, 1492. The shore was 
lined with naked savages, who fled at the approach of the 
boats; but watching from a distance the incomprehensible 
ceremony of taking possession, and the religious exercises 
of thanksgiving, performed by the strangers, fear soon 
gave place to reverential curiosity. If any thing could 
excite their wonder in a higher degree than the majestic 
approach of the ships, it might well be the splendor of 
the Spanish dress and arms, the strange complexion, and 
the thick beards of the strangers who arrived in them. 
The Indians soon began to gather round the little band, 
throwing themselves upon the earth in token of submis- 
sion and respect, and worshipping the Spaniards as gods 
or divine messengers. As nothing but kindness appeared 
in the demeanor of the strangers, the natives grew more 
familiar, and, with unbounded admiration, touched and 
examined their dress and beards. 

Columbus still further won the good- will of the island- 
ers by a judicious distribution of such brilliant beads and 
toys as ever attract the eye of the savage. Nothing de- 
lighted them so much as hawks'-bells, of whose pleasant 
tinkling, when suspended from their arms and necks, they 
were never weary. The next day, laying aside all fear, 
the Indians came out to the ships, swimming or paddling 
in their canoes. They brought such little articles of trade 
as they possessed ; balls of cotton yarn, parrots, and cas- 
sava bread (made from the yuca root); eager to traffic, 
upon any terms, for European commodities. Golden orna- 




( H H I S T O P H K R C O /, V M H V $ . 



I 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



489 



ments worn in the noses of some of them at once aroused 
the cupidity of the Spaniards, who eagerly bought them 
up, and made inquiry, by signs, as to whence the material 
was brought. This was explained to be at the southward. 

In his further cruise among the Bahamas, in the vain 
search for gold, Columbus pursued the most humane and 
gentle policy towards the natives, and their gratitude and 
delight at his caresses and presents knew no bounds. 
Equally generous, they were ever ready to proffer to the 
Spaniards all their little wealth of cotton, fruits, and tame 
parrots. Seven of the natives of Guanahani were taken 
on board the vessels upon the departure from that island. 

The admiral had no doubt but that he had reached the 
islands of the Asiatic coast, and, in accordance with this 
mistake, bestowed the epithet of Indians upon the inhab- 
itants. As he came in sight of Cuba, he supposed that he 
had at last reached Cipango. This opinion was finally 
changed, from a misapprehension of communications from 
the natives on board, to a firm belief that this was the 
main land of the continent of Asia, an error of which 
Columbus was never disabused. 

The inhabitants appeared rather more advanced in the 
arts than those before seen, but, to the intense disappoint- 
ment of all on board the vessels, none of them were pos- 
sessed of any gold. Two embassadors were sent by 
Columbus to explore the interior, and to visit the court of 
the prince of the country, whom his imagination led him 
to conclude must be none other than the Grand Khan ! A 
rude Indian village, of about one thousand inhabitants, 
naked savages, like those of the coast, was all that was 
discovered by these emissaries. They were received and 
entertained with the greatest kindness and reverence, but 
were unable to communicate with the natives otherwise 
than by signs. The most interesting report made by them 
upon their return, was of a custom then unknown to the 



490 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



whites, viz : that of smoking. The name of tobacco, given 
by the natives to the cigars which they used, was ever 
after applied to the plant. 

From Cuba, Columbus took several Indians, men and 
women, on board, at his departure, that they might be 
taught Spanish, and thereafter serve as interpreters. In 
December, he discovered the island of Hayti, named by 
him Hispaniola, and landing on the 12th of the month, 
he raised a cross in token of taking possession. All the 
inhabitants had fled into the interior; but a young female 
was taken by some roving sailors, and brought on board. 
She was sent on shore with abundant presents of ornaments 
and clothing, to give a favorable report of the whites to 
her own people. Next day a party was sent to visit the 
Indian town upon the bank of the Eiver of three Eivers. 
The town consisted of about one thousand houses, from 
which the occupants fled at the sight of the Spaniards. 
They were finally reassured, and induced to return. Some 
two thousand of them made their appearance, advancing 
slowly, with every gesture and expression of humiliation 
and respect. 

The woman whom the Spaniards had the day before 
entertained, had not failed to report magnificent descrip- 
tions of her captors and their vessels. The tokens which 
she brought back, in the shape of beads, hawks'-bells, &c, 
were yet more convincing evidence of the beneficence and 
wealth of the Spaniards. She now came forward, with her 
husband, at the head of a throng of Indians, and every 
expression of gratitude and good-will was lavished by 
them upon their guests. Every thing that the poor natives 
possessed was freely at the Spaniards' service. 

Columbus writes of these islanders: "True it is that 
after they felt confidence and lost their fear of us, they 
were so liberal with what they possessed that it would not 
be believed by those who had not seen it. If any thing 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



491 



was asked of them, they never said no ; but rather gave it 
cheerfully, and showed as much amity as if they gave 
their very hearts." 

The early voyagers, and all contemporary writers, agree 
that this was the character of nearly all the inhabitants of 
the West India Islands, with the exception of the Caribs. A 
more guileless, innocent, contented race has never existed, 
and never were strangers welcomed to a foreign shore with 
more genuine and kindly hospitality; but what a return 
did they receive for their friendliness and submission ! 

Coasting along towards the east, Columbus landed at 
Acul, and held friendly communion with the inhabitants, 
whose first fears were easily dispelled. The same scenes 
of mutual presents and hospitalities that characterized the 
former landings were here repeated. The whole of that 
region of country was under the command of a great 
cacique, named Guacanagari, from whom the Spaniards 
now, for the first time, received messengers, inviting them 
to visit him, and offering various curious presents. Among 
these articles, were some specimens of rude work in gold. 

While pursuing his course eastward, with the intention 
of anchoring in a harbor described as near the residence 
of the cacique, Columbus had the misfortune to be cast 
away upon a sand-bar. JSTo shipwrecked mariners ever 
received more prompt and efficient relief than was imme- 
diately extended by Guacanagari and his subjects. Every 
thing was brought to land from the wreck, and guarded 
with the most scrupulous honesty. The cacique himself, 
with tears in his eyes, came on board the caravel Nina, 
whither the admiral and his crew had been obliged to be- 
take themselves, and offered every assistance in his power. 

With respect to the goods brought on shore in the 
natives' canoes, "there seemed," says Mr. Irving, "even 
among the common people, no disposition to take advan- 
tage of the misfortune of the strangers. Although they 



492 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



beheld what must, in their eyes, have been inestimable 
treasures, cast as it were upon their shores, and open to 
depredation, yet there was not the least attempt to pilfer, 
nor, in transporting the effects from the ship, had they 
appropriated the most trifling article ; on the contrary, a 
general sympathy was visible in their countenances and 
actions; and, to have witnessed their concern, one would 
have supposed the misfortune had happened to themselves." 

The Spaniards, wearied with long and profitless voy- 
aging, now revelled in the enjoyment of true Indian hos- 
pitality. The cacique, who was regarded with the utmost 
love and reverence by his subjects, continued his kind 
offices, and his people were not behind-hand in following his 
example. What delighted the shipwrecked mariners more 
than any other circumstance, was the number of gold 
ornaments possessed by the natives, and which they were 
eager to dispart for any trifle of European manufacture. 
Hawks'-bells, above all other articles of use or ornament, 
were universally in demand. "On one occasion," says 
Irving, "an Indian gave half-a-handful of gold dust in ex- 
| change for one of these toys, and no sooner was in posses- 
| sion of it, than he bounded away to the woods, looking often 
behind him, and fearful that the Spaniard would repent of 
having parted so cheaply with such an inestimable jewel." 

The natives described the mountains of Cibao as the 
principal source whence gold was to be obtained. Valua- 
ble mines were, indeed, afterwards discovered in that 
region, although their yield fell far short of the extravagant 
anticipations of the Spaniards. 

A portion of the crew of the wrecked vessel expressed 
a strong desire to remain at Hispaniola until another ex- 
pedition could be fitted out from Spain, upon the return 
of the Nina, and Columbus was not displeased with the 
proposition. The Indians were overjoyed at the prospect 
of retaining some of the powerful strangers in their island, 



TEIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



493 



as a protection against the invasions of the dreaded Caribs, 
and as security for a future visit from European vessels. 
They had seen, with wonder and awe, the terrible effect of 
the discharge of artillery, and the admiral had promised 
the assistance of his men and weapons in case of any inroad 
from an enemy's country. 

The little fortress of La Kavidad was speedily con- 
structed out of the materials of the stranded vessel, and 
fortified with her cannon. The Indians eagerly lent their 
assistance in the labor of transportation and building. 
Thirty-nine men were chosen, from the numerous volun- 
teers for that service, as a garrison for the fort: to these 
Columbus addressed the most earnest exhortations to dis- 
cretion and kindness in their intercourse with the natives. 
His heart might well be touched by the continued courtesy 
and affection of Guacanagari, who could not refrain from 
tears at parting with his venerated friend. The Nina 
sailed on the 4th of January, 1493. Coasting eastward, 
the caravel joined company with the Pinta, under Pinzon, 
of which no accounts had been for some time received, and 
the two vessels passed cape Caboon, and came to anchor in 
the bay beyond. Here was seen a tribe of Indians very 
different from those of the west end of the island. From 
their bold and warlike appearance, their bows and arrows, 
clubs, and wooden swords, the Spaniards took them for 
Caribs, and, unfortunately, before coming to a friendly 
understanding with them, a skirmish took place, in which 
two of the Indians were wounded. Reconciliation and 
friendly intercourse succeeded. The tribe proved to be 
that of the Ciguayans, a hardy race of mountaineers. Co- 
lumbus was particularly struck with the noble demeanor 
of the cacique, supposed to be the same afterwards promi- 
nent in history as Mayonabex. 

Not long after the departure of the admiral from La 
Kavidad, the Spaniards left at the fort began to give them- 



494 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



selves up to the most unbounded and dissolute license. 
Their savage quarrels among themselves, and the gross 
sensuality which characterized their intercourse with the 
natives, soon disabused the latter of the sublime concep- 
tions formed by them of the virtues and wisdom of their 
guests. With all this misrule, the precautions of a mili- 
tary post were utterly neglected, and full opportunity was 
given for an attack. The destruction of the fort by the 
Carib Chief Caonabo, will be found described in a subse- 
quent chapter. 

When Columbus returned to Hispaniola, upon his second 
voyage, nothing but dismantled ruins marked the spot of 
the settlement. Gruacanagari and his people described the 
attack of Caonabo and his warriors, their own futile at- 
tempts to assist the garrison, and the slaughter of the 
Spaniards. Notwithstanding the apparent good faith of 
the cacique, many of the Spaniards began to mistrust his 
accounts, and to suspect him of having acted a treacher- 
ous part. This suspicion was strengthened by his sudden 
departure with several of the female captives brought 
away by the admiral from the Caribee Islands. 

The hope of procuring rich treasures of the precious 
metals, and the desire of holding in check the warlike 
Caonabo, induced Columbus to establish the fortress of St. 
Thomas in the province of Cibao. Those stationed at 
this remote interior position, in the midst of more hardy 
and proud-spirited tribes than those of the coast, collected 
and transmitted much curious information concerning na- 
tive superstitions, customs, and nationalities. Some crude 
notions of supernatural influences, apparitions, necroman- 
cy, &c, were entertained by these islanders, in common 
with most savage nations. They had also an idea of a 
future state of happiness for the good, in which all earthly 
pleasures should be enjoyed in unalloyed perfection. 



TEIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



CHAPTER II. 

INDIANS OF JAMAICA CRUISE ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CUBA 

SPEECH OF AN INDIAN COUNSELLOR DIFFICULTIES AT THE FOR- 
TRESS OF ST. THOMAS ITS SIEGE BY CAONABO EFFORTS OF 

COLUMBUS TO RESTORE ORDER GREAT RISING OF THE IN- 
DIANS OFHISPANIOLA THEIR DEFEAT TRIBUTE IMPOSED 

VISIT OF BARTHOLOMEW TO XARAGUAY FURTHER IN- 
SURRECTIONS IN THE VEGA BOBADILLA AS VICEROY 

CRUELTIES PRACTISED ON THE INDIANS LAS CA- 

SAS INCIDENTS RELATED BY PURCHAS ADMIN- 
ISTRATION OF OVANDO EXPEDITION AGAINST 

XARAGUA REDUCTION OF HIGUEY. 

In the month, of May, 1494, the island of Jamaica was 
first discovered by Columbus. The native inhabitants 
appeared to be of a very different character from the timid 
and gentle islanders with whom former intercourse had 
been held. A crowd of canoes, filled with savages gau- 
dily adorned with plumes and paint, opposed the landing 
of the Spaniards. These were pacified by the Indian in- 
terpreters on board; but upon landing, the next day, the 
throng of natives on shore exhibited such decidedly hos- 
tile intentions, that it became necessary to intimidate them. 
A few discharges from the Spanish cross-bows sufficed to 
put them to flight. The ferocity of a savage dog, brought 
on shore by the whites, added greatly to their terror. 

There was no difficulty in allaying the apprehensions 
of these Indians, and the usual friendly intercourse was 
soon established. During a cruise along the southern 
coast of Cuba, which occupied the succeeding months of 
June and July, the islanders seen were as gentle and tract- 
able as those upon the northern shores of the island. The 
means of communication now afforded by the Indian in- 
terpreters gave new interest to every conference. The 



496 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



wondering crowd of natives would gather with the most 
eager interest around these their fellow-countrymen, to 
listen to the tales of gorgeous spectacles and unheard-of 
wonders witnessed by themselves in the distant country 
of the whites. There was enough of the novel and won- 
derful before the eyes of the ignorant islanders, in the 
ships, appearance, conduct, and costume of the Spaniards, 
to prevent incredulity, as they listened to the narrations 
of the interpreters. The performance of the religious ser- 
vices of the Catholic church, struck the natives with awe, 
particularly when the purport of these ceremonials was 
explained to them. In testimony of their natural intelli- 
gence and perceptions of right and wrong, Mr. Irving 
gives us, from Herrera, the following speech of an aged 
councillor of one of the Cuban caciques, after witnessing 
the celebration of the mass: 

" When the service was ended, the old man of fourscore, 
who had contemplated it with profound attention, ap- 
proached Columbus, and made him an oration in the Indian 
manner. 

" ' This which thou hast been doing,' said he, ' is well ; for 
it appears to be thy manner of giving thanks to (rod. I 
am told that thou hast lately come to these lands with a 
mighty force, and hast subdued many countries, spreading 
great fear among the people; but be not therefore vain- 
glorious. Know that, according to our belief, the souls 
of men have two journeys to perform after they have de- 
parted from the body ; one to a place dismal and foul, and 
covered with darkness, prepared for those who have been 
unjust and cruel to their fellow-men ; the other pleasant 
and fall of delight, for such who have promoted peace on 
earth. If then thou art mortal, and dost expect to die, 
and dost believe that each one shall be rewarded accord- 
ing to his deeds, beware that thou wrongfully hurt no man, 
nor do harm to those who have done no harm to thee.' " 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



497 



From Cuba the admiral visited the southern shores of 
Jamaica. All the first distrust and opposition of the in- 
habitants had vanished, and nothing but gentleness and 
kindness characterized their demeanor. At one place a 
cacique came out to the ship with his whole family, " con- 
sisting of his wife, two daughters, two sons, and five broth 
ers. One of the daughters was eighteen years of age, 
beautiful in form and countenance; her sister was some- 
what younger ; both were naked, according to the custom 
of the islands, but were of modest demeanour." 

This chief professed himself ready to go, with all his 
train, in the Spanish vessels, to visit the king and queen 
of Spain, and acknowledge himself their vassal, if by so 
doing he could preserve his kingdom. 

During the absence of Columbus, the dissolute and un- 
principled Spaniards at the fortress of St. Thomas, so 
grossly abused their power among the natives, that an ex- 
tensive spirit of hostility was roused up against them. 
Caonabo was unwearied in his efforts to excite the other 
island caciques to a union against the intruders, and the 
faithful Guacanagari alone seems to have been proof against 
his persuasions, in revenge for which non-compliance, 
the Carib and his brother-in-law, Behechio, committed 
numberless indignities and injuries upon him and his 
people. Serious difficulties soon arose; a number of 
Spaniards were put to death by Guatiguana, a subordinate 
cacique under the celebrated Guarionex, in punishment for 
outrages committed upon his people ; and Caonabo besieged 
the garrison at St. Thomas with a force of many thousands j 
of his warriors. After thirty days' of ineffectual attempts 
to reduce the place, he gave up the undertaking, and drew 
off his army. The stratagem by which the person of this j 
noted chief and warrior was secured by the commandant 
at St. Thomas's, will be detailed hereafter. Columbus, upon 
his return to Hispaniola, made use of every effort to check 
32 



498 



INDIAN KACES OF AMEKICA. 



the ruinous disorders which had become prevalent. He 
punished Guatiguana by an invasion of his dominions and 
the destruction of no small number of his people. An 
interview was then brought about with his superior, Gua- 
rionex, a peaceable and well-disposed chief, who readily 
consented to the establishment of a Spanish fort in the 
very heart of his domains. 

The crushing system of oppression had now fairly com- 
menced, and was promptly followed up by the shipment 
of five hundred Indians to be sold as slaves in Spain. 
This was directly the act of Columbus himself, and histo- 
rians only offer, as his excuse, the argument that such was 
the ordinary custom of his age in all wars with savages or 
infidels. The interposition of the kind-hearted Isabella, 
prevented the consummation of this proposed sale. By 
her orders, the prisoners were sent back to their homes, 
but, unfortunately, not until the state of affairs upon the 
islands was such that the poor Indians might have been 
better situated as slaves in Spain. 

A general combination of the island chieftains against 
the Spaniards finally induced Columbus to commence an 
active campaign against them. In the dominions of the 
captive, Caonabo, his brother, Manicaotex, his brother- 
in-law, Behechio, and his beautiful wife, Anacaona, were 
the most prominent in authority, and the most active 
in rousing up hostilities. The Spanish force consisted of 
a little over two hundred men, twenty of whom were 
mounted, and twenty blood-hounds, an enemy as novel as 
terrible to the naked savages. Guacanagari lent his feeble 
aid, with that of his followers. Of the number of the hos- 
tile Indians in the district of the Yega, the historians of 
the time gave exaggerated accounts. They speak of an 
array of one hundred thousand hostile savages. Mani- 
caotex was leader of the united tribes. Near the site of 
the present town of St. Jago, a decisive battle was fought, 



TRIBES "OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 499 

in which the vast army of the Indians was utterly routed. 
The Spanish commander did not hesitate to divide his little 
battalion into several detachments, which fell upon the i 
enemy simultaneously, from different quarters. Torn to 
pieces by the savage dogs, trampled down by the cavalry, 
and unable to effect any thing in turn against the mail-clad 
whites, the poor Indians were overwhelmed with confusion 
and terror. The rout was as complete, although the mas- 
sacre was not so cruel, as when Pizarro attacked the Peru- 
vian Inca, with an almost equally disproportionate force. 

" The Indians," says Mr. Irving, "fled in every direction 
with yells and howlings ; some clambered to the top of 
rocks and precipices, from whence they made piteous sup- 
plications and offers of complete submission ; many were 
killed, many made prisoners, and the confederacy was, for 
for the time, completely broken up and dispersed." 

Nearly the whole of Hispaniola was speedily reduced to 
subjection; Behechio and his sister, Anacaona, alone of all 
the natives in authority, secluded themselves among the 
unsettled wilds at the western extremity of the island. 
All the other caciques made conciliatory overtures, and 
submitted to the imposition of a heavy and grievous 
tribute upon them and their subjects. A hawks' -bell 
filled with gold-dust, or twenty -five pounds of cotton, was 
quarterly required at the hands of every Indian over the 
age of fourteen ; from the chiefs a vastly larger amount was 
collected. The contrast between the former easy and lux- 
urious life of the islanders, their gayety and content, their 
simple pleasures, and unfettered liberty, with the galling 
servitude and wearisome tasks now imposed, is most touch- 
ingly and eloquently described by Irving. Unable to 
endure the unwonted toil and hopeless labor, the Indians 
vainly endeavored to escape to the mountains, and, sub- 
sisting upon the crude products of the forest, to evade the 
cruelty of their enslavers. They were hunted out, and 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEKICA. 



compelled to return to their homes and to their labors. 
The unfortunate Guacanagari, receiving no favor from the 
suspicious Spaniards, and being an object of the deepest 
hatred to his countrymen for the part he had taken in their 
struggle for freedom, died in neglect and wretchedness 
among the mountains. 

In 1496, Bartholomew, a brother of Columbus, then ex- 
ercising the office of adelantado at Hispaniola, visited 
Behechio at his remote western province of Xaraguay. 
He was received with hospitality and kindness by this 
chief and his sister Anacaona, and entertained in the best 
manner the country could afford. The object of the ex- 
pedition was to induce the cacique to comply peaceably 
with the Spanish requisitions of tribute. Behechio had 
learned by sad experience the power of the European 
arms, and, as the adelantado agreed to receive the tribute 
in such articles as his country produced, instead of gold, 
he readily consented. Bartholomew's judicious policy 
towards these illustrious islanders gained him their highest 
esteem. Behechio and his sister paid the tribute required 
cheerfully and promptly; and, upon the occasion of a visit 
from the adelantado to receive it, they both took occasion 
J to visit the caravel in which he had arrived. Anacaona, 
especially, was filled with delight at the sight of the vessel' 
and at witnessing the ease and certainty with which its 
i movements were controlled. 

The females of Xaraguay were of most remarkable 
I beauty, but preeminent among them was the widow of 
Caonabo. Her queenly demeanor, grace, and courtesy, j 
won the admiration of the Spaniards. 

In the following year (1497) another insurrection broke 
out among tribes of the Yega and the vicinity. The im- 
mediate cause of this outbreak was the execution, at the 
stake, in accordance with the barbarity and bigotry of the ; 
age, of a number of Indians, for the offence of sacrilege I 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



501 



Guarionex, the principal cacique, had been an object of 
special interest with the ecclesiastics to whom was com- 
mitted the work of converting the islanders. His easy 
and pliable disposition cansed him to listen patiently to 
their instructions, and to comply with numerous forms of 
their enjoining. Some one of the Spaniards having com- 
mitted an outrage upon his wife, Guarionex refused to 
listen further to the doctrines of a religion whose profess- j 
ors were guilty of such villanies. Shortly after this, a 
chapel was broken open, and images enshrined within it 
were destroyed by a number of the natives. For this 
offence, those implicated were burned alive, as above men- 
tioned. The adelantado suppressed the consequent uprising 
by a prompt and energetic seizure of the leading chiefs. 
Two of these were put to death, but Guarionex and the 
others were pardoned. 

By the persuasions and influence of the rebellious Eol- 
dan, the unfortunate cacique was, in 1498, drawn into a 
second conspiracy of the natives. The plot was prema- 
turely developed, and Guarionex fled from the plains of 
the Yega into the mountains of Ciguay, and joined his 
fortunes to those of the cacique Mayonabex. This gener- 
ous and noble chief received him, with his family and a 
few followers, under his protection. 

From this retreat, with the assistance of Ciguayan war- 
riors, the fugitive was enabled to molest the Spanish 
settlements of the low country with impunity, until the 
Adelantado Bartholomew invaded the mountain district, 
dispersed the armies of Mayonabex, and took both him 
and his guest prisoners. The conqueror was more placable 
towards a fallen foe than most of his countrymen, and, 
upon the submission of the Ciguayans, was ready to accord 
them protection and favor. Guarionex perished, in 1502, 
on his passage for Spain, in the same vessel with Boba- 
dilla and Koldan. The ship foundered at sea in a terrible 



j 502 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

hurricane, which arose immediately after the departure 
from Hispaniola. 

It was under the administration of Bobadilla that the 
Indians of Hispaniola were reduced to a more complete 
and systematic condition of slavery than before. They 
were regularly parceled out to the Spanish proprietors 
of the mines, by whom they were compelled to labor far 
beyond their powers of endurance, and whose wanton cruel- 
ties excited the strongest indignation in the mind of the 
benevolent Las Casas— one of the few historians of his age 
and nation, who possessed the inclination or courage to 
paint the cruelties of his countrymen in their true colors. 
This truly benevolent man devoted the greater portion of 
his life to efforts for ameliorating the condition of the na- 
tives of the New World, but in his sympathy with their 
sufferings and oppressions, he unfortunately lost sight of 
what was due to another scarcely less unfortunate race. 
He was among the earliest to advocate the substitution of 
negro slavery for that of the Indians, under the impres- 
sion—doubtless in itself just— that a state of servitude was 
less intolerable to the one than the other. It is to Las 
Casas that we are indebted for the most frightful detail of 
wrong and cruelty in the settlement of the West Indies, 
that ever disgraced human nature. His descriptions of the 
manner in which the native population was annihilated to 
minister to the luxury and avarice — nay, far worse, to the 
depraved and wanton cruelty of the Spaniards— are fright- 
ful in the extreme. We can share in the honest indigna- 
tion of old Purchas, from whose " Pilgrimage " we cite'the 
following items: 

"In the Island Hispaniola the Spaniards had their first 
Indian habitations, where their cruelties draue the Indians 
to their shifts, and to their weak defence, which caused 
those enraged Lions, to spare neither man, woman, nor 
childe.— They set up gibbets, and in honour of Christ and 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



503 



his twelve Apostles (as they said, and could the Diuell 
say worse?) they would both hang and burne them. * * 
The Nobles and commanders, they broiled on gridirons, 
* * * They had dogges to hunt them out of their couerts, 
which deuoured the poore soules: and because sometimes 
the Indians, thus prouoked, would kill a Spaniard, if they 
found opportunitie, they made a law, that an hundred of 
them should for one Spaniard be slaine." 
He elsewhere remarks : 

"Here [in Cuba] was a cacique named Hathuey, which 
called his subjects about him, and shewing them a boxe of 
Gold, said, that was the Spaniards God, and made them 
dance about it very solemnly; and lest the Spaniards 
should have it, he hurled it into the Eiuer. Being taken 
and condemned to the fire; when he was bound to the 
stake, a Frier came and preached heauen to him, and the 
terrors of hell : Hathuey asked if there were any Spaniards 
in heauen, the Frier answered, yea, such as were good; 
Hathuey replied, he would rather goe to hell, then goe 
where any of that cruell Nation were. I was once present 
saith Casas, when the inhabitants of one towne brought vs 
forth victuall, and met vs with great Kindnesse, and the 
Spaniards without any cause slew three thousand of them, 
of euery age and sexe. I, by their counsell, sent to other 
Townes to meet vs, with promise of good dealing, and two 
and twentie Caciques met vs, which the Captaine, against 
all faith, caused to be burned." 

In Hispaniola, under the administration of Ovando, suc- 
cessor to Bobadilla, the sufferings and oppressions of the 
overtasked natives reached their climax. It would be but 
a wearisome repetition of barbarities to enumerate the 
wrongs perpetrated against the submissive inhabitants in 
the vicinity of the principal Spanish settlements, but the 
expedition against the province of Xaraguay merits a more 
particular attention. This was in the year 1503. Behe- 



504 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



chio was dead, but his sister Anacaona still maintained her 
influence over the natives of that district. Upon pretence 
of an intended insurrection, Ovando determined to reduce 
Xaraguay to a condition as miserable and hopeless as that 
of the eastern districts. He started upon this expedition 
with three hundred well-armed infantry and seventy 
mounted men. The army entered the dominions of Ana- 
caona with the appearance of friendship, and the queen, 
with her associate caciques, was not backward in rendering 
to her visitors all the hospitalities of the country. Troops 
of young girls, dancing and waving branches of palm, 
ushered them into the principal village, where they were 
received and entertained with every token of kindness 
and good-will. 

It is impossible to conceive of any adequate motion on 
the part of the ferocious Ovando for the treacherous cru- 
elty of his conduct towards his hosts. He affected to be- 
lieve that a conspiracy was on foot among the natives, to 
massacre him and his followers, but, judging from what 
we can learn of the transaction, there existed no possible 
ground for such a suspicion. The course taken to avert 
the supposed danger was as follows. All the caciques 
were invited to attend, with their people, at a grand festi- 
val or exhibition of Spanish martial exercises. When the 
unsuspecting Xaraguans had gathered in eager curiosity 
to behold the scene, at a given signal, the armed Spaniards 
fell upon the crowd, and a scene of horrible carnage en- 
sued. Forty of the chiefs, it is said, were taken prisoners, 
and after being subjected to the most cruel torments to 
extort from them a confession of guilt, the house where 
they were confined was set on fire, and the whole number 
perished in the flames. 

Anacaona was carried to St. Domingo, tried, adjudged 
guilty of an attempt at insurrection, and hanged! Her 
subjects were remorselessly persecuted; hunted from their 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



505 



retreats among the mountains, slain like wild beasts, or 
brought into the most servile and hopeless bondage, they 
attempted no resistance, and submitted to the cruel yoke 
of their tyrants. 

The reduction of the eastern province of Higuey, and 
the execution of its noble and gigantic chief Cotubanama, 
completed the Spanish conquests on the island of Hispan- 
iola. The details of the barbarities attendant upon this 
last warfare, as given by Las Casas, are too horrible and 
disgusting for minute recital. It is sufficient that, not con- 
tent with the destruction of the conquered people, without 
regard to age and sex, the Spaniards tasked their ingenuity, 
to devise the most cruel and lingering torments in the mur- 
der of their prisoners. 

By such a course of atrocities were the "West India 
islands depopulated of their original inhabitants. The 
summary with which Purchas concludes his enumeration 
of various scenes of Spanish cruelty, is too quaint and 
forcible to be omitted. " But why doe I longer trace them 
in their bloudie steppes ; seeing our Author that relates 
much more then I, yet protesteth that it was a thousand 
times worse. * * How may we admire that long-suffering 
of God, that rained not a floud of waters, as in Noahs 
time, or of fire, as in Lots, or of stones, as in Joshuas, or 
some vengeance from heauen vpon these Models of Hell? 
And how could Hell forbeare swallowing such prepared 
morsels, exceedinge the beastlinesse of beastes, inhuman- 
itie of wonted tyrants, and diuelishnesse, if it were pos- 
sible, of the Diuels." 



506 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE CARIBS— -THEIR ISLANDS FIRST VISITED BY COLUMBUS ORIGIN 

AND LOCATION OF THE RACE TOKENS OF CANNIBALISM SEEN BY 

THE SPANIARDS CRUISE AMONG THE ISLANDS DEMEANOR 

OF PRISONERS TAKEN — RETURN TO HISPANIOLA DESTRUC- 
TION OF THE FORTRESS AT THAT ISLAND CAPTURE OF 

CAONABO : HIS DEATH- — EXPULSION OF THE NATIVES 
FROM THE CARIBBEE ISLANDS. 

At the time of the discovery of America by Christopher 
Columbus, the fierce and celebrated race of cannibals which 
forms the subject of the present chapter was principally 
located upon the beautiful tropical islands, extending from 
Porto Eico to the main land of South America. The ter- 
ror of their invasions, felt by the more gentle and peace- 
able natives of the greater Antilles, inspired no little 
curiosity and interest in the minds of the early voyagers, 
and Columbus had promised the assistance of the Spanish 
power to check their ravages. Upon his second voyage, 
in 1493, the first land made was one of the Caribbean isl- 
ands, and on the following day, (November 4th,) a landing . 
was effected at Ghiadaloupe. Here the first intercourse 
took place with the terrible Caribs. 

This singular race of savages, according to tradition, 
had its origin upon the continent of North America, 
among the mountain districts of the central United States. 
Perhaps they might have sprung from the same stock as 
the warlike Monacans and other savage tribes of the 
interior, spoken of by early historians. " They are said to 
have migrated," says Mr. Irving, "from the remote val- 
leys embosomed in the Appalachian mountains. The 
earliest notices we have of them represent them with their 
weapons in their hands ; continually engaged in wars ; win- 
ning their way and shifting their abode, until in the course 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



507 



of time they found themselves on the extreme end of 
Florida." Hence they made their way from one island to 
another to the southern continent. "The archipelago ex- 
tending from Porto Eico to Tobago, was their strong-hold, 
and the island of Guadaloupe in a manner their citadel." 

Whether the foregoing account of the original deriva 
tion of the race be the correct one, it would be difficult to 
decide at this distance of time. When first known to 
Europeans the different nations of Caribs were widely dif- 
fused upon the Continent of South America. They were 
to be found upon the banks of the Orinoco, where their 
descendants are living at this day, and, still farther south, 
in Brazil. They were every where noted for the same 
fierce and warlike spirit. Something of the physical char- 
acteristics of the inhabitants of eastern Asia has been 
observed in the Caribs and the Guarani tribes who in- 
habited the country north of the Amazon. As described 
by D'Orbigny, the following peculiarities are noticeable 
in most of them. ' ' Complexion yellowish ; stature middle ; 
forehead not so much arched as in other races; eyes ob- 
liquely placed, and raised at the outer angle." 

To return to the experience of the discoverer of the 
New World at the Caribbee islands. At the landing of 
the Spaniards, the natives fled from a neighboring village 
into the interior. In order to conciliate them, the visitors 
fastened hawks'-bells and attractive ornaments to the arms 
of some children who had been left behind in the hurry of 
flight. The sight of human remains, among other things, 
"the head of a young man, recently killed, which was 
yet bleeding, and some parts of his body boiling with the 
flesh of geese and parrots, and others roasting before the 
fire," at once suggested the thought that this must be the 
country of the Caribs. Columbus took a number of the 
natives prisoners, and carried off several women who had 
been held in captivity by the islanders. It appeared that 



508 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA* 



most of the men of the island were away npon some war 
like excursion. 

Pursuing his course towards Hispaniola, or Hayti, where 
the first colony had been planted upon his preceding voy- 
age, Columbus sailed by numerous islands of the Caribbean j 
groupe. He landed at Santa Cruz, called Ayay by the 
Indians, and secured a further number of prisoners. Some I 
of these were in a canoe, and offered a fierce resistance I 
when they saw their retreat intercepted by one of the ! 
Spanish boats. There were two women of the party, one 
of them apparently a female cacique, and these showed no 
less valor than the men. They were taken by upsetting 
their canoe; but, even in the water, they resisted stoutly 
to the last, availing themselves of every point of sunken 
rock, where they could obtain a foothold, to discharge 
their arrows. One of the men was a son of the queen, and 
his "terrible frowning brow, and lion's face," excited the 
admiration of his captors. The demeanor of the whole 
party reminds one strongly of the early descriptions of the 
Maquas or Mohawks when in captivity. 

"When on board," says Irving, "the Spaniards could 
not but admire their untamed spirit and fierce demeanour. 
Their hair was long and coarse, their eyes encircled with 
paint, so as to give them a hideous expression; they had 
bands of cotton bound firmly above and below the muscu- 
lar parts of the arms and legs, so as to cause them to swell 
to a disproportionate size, which was regarded by them as 
a great beauty, a custom which prevailed among various 
tribes of the new world. Though captives, in chains, and 
in the power of their enemies, they still retained a frown- 
ing brow and an air of defiance." 

Arriving at Hayti, Columbus found the settlement at 
La Navidad laid waste and abandoned. Its destruction 
was owing to a Carib chief named Caonabo, whose warlike 
and commanding nature had gained him unbounded au- ! 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



509 



tkority over the natives of the island. The fact of his 
uniting himself with another race by which his own na- 
tion was regarded with the utmost detestation and dread, 
and his attainment of rank and influence under such 
circumstances, are sufficient proofs of his enterprise and 
capacity. 

The friendly Indian chief Guacanagari had in vain ex- 
tended his assistance to the little band of Spanish colonists. 
Caonabo had heard at his establishment among the moun- 
tains of Cibao, of the outrages and excesses committed by 
the whites, and during the absence of the admiral, he 
made a descent upon the fort. All of the Spaniards per- 
ished, and Guacanagari was wounded in the encounter. 
As a further punishment for his espousal of the cause of 
the detested strangers, his village was destroyed by the 
revengeful Carib. 

Guacanagari and other Haytian Indians were taken on 
board the Spanish vessels, and, among other proofs of 

i superiority and power, were shown the Carib prisoners, 
confined in chains. This seemed to affect them more 
powerfully than any thing else that they witnessed. These 
captives were afterwards sent over to Spain for instruction 
in the Spanish language and in the true religion, it being 

j intended that they should thereafter act as missionaries 
among their own savage countrymen. 

The circumstances attending the capture of the Span- 

j iarcls' most dreaded enemy, Caonabo, are too singular and 
well attested to be passed over. This was accomplished 
by the celebrated Alonzo de Ojeda, commandant of the 
fortress of St. Thomas. The Carib chief was able, it is 

| asserted, to bring no less than ten thousand warriors into 
the field, and his personal strength and courage rendered 
him no despicable foe in open combat. Ojeda had recourse 
to the following stratagem to secure his enemy : He pro- 
ceeded, accompanied by only ten mounted companions, 



510 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



direct to the chiefs encampment, upon pretence of a 
friendly mission from the admiral. 

The cacique was, after great persuasion, induced to 
undertake an expedition to Isabella for the purpose of 
peaceful negotiations with Columbus. Among other in- 
ducements, Ojeda promised him the chapel-bell, as a pres- 
ent. Accompanied by a large body of armed warriors, 
the party set out for the Spanish settlement. Near the 
river Yagui, in the words of Mr. Irving, "Ojeda one day 
produced a set of manacles of polished steel, so highly 
burnished that they looked like silver. Those he assured 
Caonabo were royal ornaments which had come from 
heaven, or the Turey of Biscay," (the location of certain 
extensive iron manufactories); "that they were worn by 
the monarchs of Castile in solemn dances, and other high 
festivities, and were intended as presents to the cacique. 
He proposed that Caonabo should go to the river and 
bathe, after which he should be decorated with these orna- 
ments, mounted on the horse of Ojeda, and should return 
in the state of a Spanish monarch, to astonish his subjects." 

The bold device was completely successful. Caonabo, 
en croupe behind Ojeda, for a short time exulted in his. 
proud position, curvetting among his amazed warriors; 
but suddenly the little cavalcade dashed into the forest with 
a rapidity that defied pursuit. The cacique was safely 
carried a distance of fifty or sixty leagues to Isabella, and 
delivered to the admiral. He ever after expressed great 
admiration at the skill and courage with which his captor 
had duped him, and manifested a reverence and respect 
towards Ojeda which his proud and haughty spirit forbade 
him to exhibit in any other presence, even that of Colum- 
bus himself. 

Upon the occasion of the admiral's second return to 
Spain, in 1497, Caonabo, with several of his relatives, and 
a number of other Indians, was taken on board. Baffled 



TEIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 511 



by contrary winds, the vessels were a long time delayed at 
the very commencement of the voyage. A landing was 
effected at Gruadaloupe, for the purpose of procuring fresh 
provisions. 

The inhabitants exhibited their natural hostility of 
disposition, and it was especially observed, as upon a 
former occasion, that the women were as warlike and effi- 
cient as the men. A number of these females were made 
prisoners, among the rest, one who was wife of a chief of 
the island, a woman of most remarkable agility and strength. 
On setting sail, the admiral, desirous of conciliating the 
good-will of the natives, set his prisoners free, and gave 
them divers presents in pay for the provisions and stores 
plundered by his crew. The cacique's wife was allowed 
to remain on board, with her daughter, at her own re- 
quest, she having become enamored of the captive Caonabo. 
This distinguished chieftain died before the vessels reach- 
ed Spain. 

The Carib tribes who occupied the islands where the 
race was first encountered by Europeans, maintained pos- 
session of their homes as long as courage and desperation 
could avail against the superior skill and weapons of the 
whites. Spanish cupidity, and love of novelty and ad- 
venture led to the gradual occupation of the Caribbee 
islands. In some of them, bloody battles were fought : a At 
St. Christopher's," according to the Rev. TV. H. Brett, "in 
1625, two thousand Caribs perished in battle, whilst their 
European invaders lost one hundred men. In the other 
islands their losses were equally great. These calamities 
would cause a migration of the natives when they found it 
useless to fight any more. Some of the islands, as Mar- 
tinico, were suddenly abandoned by them, after a fierce 
but unavailing struggle. 

Those of the Caribs who chose to forsake the islands 
entirely, would naturally take refuge with their brethren 



512 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



already settled in Guiana, and by their valor secure to 
themselves such portions of the country as they might 
think proper to occupy; as few tribes would be able, or 
indeed dare, to oppose them. A remnant of the Caribs 
still remained at St. Vincent, and they were transported, 
about the end of the last century, to the island of Euattan,' 
in the bay of Honduras." 

This once terrible and dreaded race— so dreaded by the 
Spaniards that vague reports of the approach of an army 
of Caribs could terrify the conquerors of Peru in the midst 
of their successes— is now reduced to a few insignificant 
tribes. They are scattered in the wilderness of Guiana,^ 
and mingled with other nations of the interior. About 
the upper waters of the Pomeroon is one of their most 
considerable establishments, and the tribe there located 
numbers but a few hundred savages, living in almost as 
primitive a state as when Columbus first coasted along 
these tropical shores. 



CHAPTEE IY. 

INDIANS OF GUIANA AND VENEZUELA CLASSIFICATION THE ARA- 

WAKS FIRST SEEN BY COLUMBUS ENTRY INTO THE GULF OF 

PARIA— HOSPITALITY OF THE NATIVES— RALEIGH'S VISIT 

TO THE ORINOCO EARLY WARS OF THE ARAWAKS 

VICTORY OVER THE CARIBS MAROON NEGROES 

—PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ARAWAKS 
OTHER TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR- 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

The tribes who inhabit the wilderness between the 
Amazon and the sea-coast settlements at the north, upon 
the Caribbean sea and the Atlantic, have been classified as 
belonging to the same family with the aboriginal inhabit- 



t 




TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



513 



ants of Brazil. The race has been denominated the 
" Brasilio Guaarani," and has been divided into the nations 
of Guarani, Caribs, Tupi, and Botocudos. 

In Gniana one of the most prominent tribes is that of 
the Arawaks. These people inhabit a great extent of 
country directly back of the narrow strip of cultivated 
sea-coast. Nearly the whole of their territory is a savage 
wilderness, in which the traveller in vain seeks for any 
evidence of progress, or any tokens of former civilization 
and prosperity. A few rude figures, marked upon the 
rocks in certain localities, are the only records of the num- 
berless generations which have passed away, leaving their 
descendants precisely in the situation of those who pre- 
ceded them, and as hopeless or careless of improvement. 
The Arawaks were the first natives seen by Columbus, 
upon the occasion of his discovery of the continent of 
South America, in the summer of 1498. 

The first land made was the island of Trinidad, at the 
mouth of the great river Orinoco. No Indians were seen 
upon the island by a party sent on shore, although unmis- 
takable tokens of a recent and hasty retreat were visible. 
As the vessels approached the Serpent's Mouth, (the south- 
ern entrance to the gulf of Paria,) twenty-five of the 
natives made their appearance in a canoe. To the aston- 
ishment of the admiral, who had expected, from the reports 
at Hispaniola, to find a race of negroes in these southern 
latitudes, they were of lighter complexion than any with 
whom he had before held intercourse. Their figures were 
well proportioned and graceful; their only clothing was a 
sort of turban, and a waistband of colored cotton; and 
their arms were bows and arrows. "When an attempt was 
made to conciliate these wild voyagers by dancing and 
music, it was mistaken for a sign of hostility, and the sup- 
posed war-dance was summarily stopped by a flight of 
arrows. The suspicions of the natives prevented the 
33 



514 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



opening of any communication with them until after the 
entry of the ships into the gulf. Several of them were 
then taken by upsetting their canoe, and, after being kindly 
entreated and encouraged, were dismissed with the usual 
presents of trinkets and hawks'-bells. When the fears of 
the inhabitants were dissipated by this procedure, they 
were eager to crowd about the vessels in their canoes. 
These latter were of excellent construction and large size ; 
some of them were even furnished with a cabin. 

The cacique of the county received the Spaniards at his 
house with the greatest respect and hospitality, and feasted 
them upon whatever luxuries the fruitful soil produced. 
" Nothing," says Irving, "could exceed the kindness and 
amity of this people, heightened as it was by an intelligent 
demeanour and a martial frankness. They seemed worthy 
of the beautiful country they inhabited. It was a cause of 
great concern, both to them and to the Spaniards, that they 
could not understand each others' language." 

Sir Walter Ealeigh entered the Orinoco in the year 1595, 
and brought home some account of the natives seen there. 
As recorded by Purchas: "The inhabitants on the North- 
erne branches are the Tiuitiuas, a goodly and valiant people, 
which haue the most manly speech and most deliberate 
(saith Sir Walter) that euer I heard of whatever Nation 
soeuer. In the Summer they haue houses on the ground, 
e King AUbeia as in other places : in the Winter they dwelt 
dwelt on a tree V pon the trees, 6 where they built very artifl- 

lf Da e riena ntrey cia11 Townes and Villages; for betweene 
Pet. Martyr : May and September the Eiuer of Orenoque 
Dec. 3. lib. 6. riseth thirtie foot vpright, and then are those 
Islands ouer-flowen twentie foot high, except in some few 
raised grounds in the middle. This waterie store, when 
the clouds are so prodigall of more then the Eiuers store- 
house can hold, whereby they became violent intruders 
and incroachers vpon the land, and not the violence of 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 515 

cold, giueth this time the title of Winter. These Tiuitiuas 
neuer eat of any thing that is set or sowne ; Natures nurs- 
lings, that neither at home nor abroad, will be beholden 
to the art or labour of Husbandrie. They vse the tops 
of Palmitos for bread, and kill Deere, Fish, and Porke, j 
for the rest of their sustenance. They which dwell vpon 
the branches of the Orenoque, called Capuri and Macureo, 
are for the most part Carpenters of Canoas, which they 
sell into Gruiana for gold, and into Trinidado for Tabacco, 
in the excessiue taking whereof, they exceed all Nations. 
When a Commander dieth, they vse great lamentation, and 
when they thinke the flesh of their bodies is putrifled and 
fallen from the bones, they take vp the karkasse againe, 
and hang it vp in the house, where he had dwelt, decking 
his skull with feathers of all colours, and hanging his gold- 
plates about the bones of his arms, thighes and legges. 
The Arwacas, which dwell on the South of the Orenoque, 
beat the bones of their Lords into Powder, which their 
wiues and friends drinke." 

In early times the Arawaks were engaged in perpetual 
wars with the Caribs. Those of the latter race, who inhab- 
ited the nearest Caribbean islands, made continual descents 
upon the main, but are said, finally, to have been worsted. 
The Eev. W. EL Brett recounts some of the traditions still 
handed down among the Arawaks of these wars. "They 
have," says he, "an indistinct idea of cruelties perpetrated 
by the Spaniards. Tradition has preserved the remem- 
brance of white men clothed with 'seperari' or iron, 
who drove their fathers before them, and, as some say, 
hunted them with dogs through the forest. But by far i 
the greater number of their traditions relate to engage- 
ments between themselves and the Caribs on the main 
land." With peculiar exultation they detail the particu- 
lars of a victory obtained over a great body of these 
invaders by means of a judicious ambush. The Arawaks 



j 516 IXDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

had fled from their approach to the low marshy country 
upon the Waini, and laid their ambuscade upon either 
side of the narrow channel through which the enemy were 
expected to pass. "The Caribs are said to have had a 
great number of canoes of large size, which followed each 
other, in line, through the mazy channels of the Savannah. 
As they rounded a certain island, their painted warriors 
in the first canoe were transfixed by a shower of arrows 
from an unseen enemy on both sides of them, and totally 
disabled. Those in the second canoe shared the same fate ; 
the others, who could not see what had happened, hurried 
forward to ascertain the cause of the cries, but each canoe, 
as it reached the fatal spot, was saluted by a deadly shower 
of arrows. The Arawaks then rushed forward, and fought 
till the victory was completed. It is said that only two 
Caribs survived, and they were dismissed by the Arawak 
chieftain, on promise of a ransom to be paid in cotton 
hammocks, for the manufacture of which their nation 
is noted." 

After the settlement of difficulties between the European 
colonists of Guiana and the neighboring Indian tribes, the 
j introduction of negro slaves by the former proved a ter- 
rible scourge to the natives. Great numbers of the Afri- 
cans escaped from their masters into the wilderness, and 
there forming predatory bands, were long a terror to both 
whites and Indians. "The accounts which the Arawaks 
have received from their ancestors, represent these negroes 
as equally ferocious with the Caribs, and more to be dreaded 
on account of their superior bodily strength." 

The Arawaks of the present day are, like their forefath- 
ers, a more mild and peaceable race than many of their 
neighbors. In their domestic relations and general man- 
ner of life, they do not differ materially from the gener- 
ality of the North American savages. Together with the 
rude clubs, bows and arrows, &c., so universal among bar- 



TRIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



517 



barous nations, they have the more efficient weapons of 
the European. The Indian is every where quick to per- 
ceive the advantage of fire-arms, and apt in acquiring their 
use. Christian missionaries have devoted themselves with 
great zeal and perseverance to the instruction and improve- | 
ment of this tribe, and the natural kindly disposition of 
the race seems to favor the undertaking. 

Besides the Caribs and Arawaks, the principal Indian 
tribes of Guiana are the Waraus, and the Wacawoios; in 
addition to these are the minor nations of the Arecunas, 
Zaparas, Soerikongs, Woyawais, Pianoghottos, &c, &c. 
Most of these are barbarous tribes, not sufficiently variant 
from each other to render a distinct consideration valuable 
or interesting. 

The vast wilderness which they inhabit is little visited 
by whites. From the coast settlements the only available 
routes into the interior are by means of the numerous riv- 
ers, upon whose banks missionary enterprise has here and 
there established a little settlement as a nucleus for future 
operations among the natives at large. From Mr. Brett's 
narrative of his own observation and experience in these 
wilds, we quote the following items of general description: 

" The appearance of the Indian in his natural state is 
not unpleasing when the eye has become accustomed to 
his scanty attire. He is smaller in size than either the 
European or the negro, nor does he possess the bodily 
strength of either of these. Few of his race exceed five 
feet five inches in height, and the greater number are 
much shorter. They are generally well made ; many are 
rather stout in proportion to their height, and it is very 
rare to see a deformed person among them." 

In respect to dress, which, both for men and women, is 
of the most scanty proportions, (consisting only of a band- 
age about the loins, with perhaps a few ornamental arti- 
cles of feather-work for state occasions,) the efforts of the 



518 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



missionaries have effected some change in those brought 
under their influence. In a burning tropical clime, the 
propriety or policy of such fancied improvement is very 
questionable. If no immodesty is connected with naked- 
ness in the eyes of the unsophisticated natives, it would 
seem hardly worth while to enlighten them upon such a 
subject, for the purpose of establishing a conformity to 
European customs. 

Our author continues: " Their color is a copper tint, 
pleasing to the eye, and the shin, where constantly covered 
from the sun, is little darker than that of the natives of 
Southern Europe. Their hair is straight and coarse, and 
continues perfectly black till an advanced period of life. 
The general expression of the face is pleasing, though it 
varies with the tribe and the disposition of each person. 
Their eyes are black and piercing, and generally slant up- 
wards a little towards the temple, which would give an 
unpleasant expression to the face, were it not relieved by 
the sweet expression of the mouth. The forehead . gen- 
erally recedes, though in a less degree than in the African; 
there is, however, much difference in this respect, and in 
some individuals it is well formed and prominent." 

The usual division of labor among savage nations is 
observed in Guiana. The daily drudgery of the household 
belongs to the women, who also cultivate the small fields 
in which the yuca, (the root from which they make their 
bread,) and the other cultivated crops are raised. The 
men pursue their hunting and fishing, and undertake the 
more severe labors attendant upon the building their huts, 
the clearing of new ground, &c. 

The native dwelling is generally little more than a roof 
of palm-leaf thatch supported upon posts, between which 
hang the cotton hammocks in which the occupants sleep. 
Some few implements of iron- ware, and articles of pottery 
of a more substantial and practical form than that manu- 



TEIBES OF THE WEST INDIES, ETC. 



519 



factored by themselves, are generally procured by trade 
with the coast, but these are all of the simplest description. 

Maize, with cassava, yams, potatoes and other roots, 
constitutes their principal vegetable food. The cassava is 
prepared by grating, or scraping, and subsequent pressure 
in a receptacle of basket-work. This strainer is constructed 
in the form of a "long tube, open at the top and closed at 
the bottom, to which a strong loop is attached. The pulpy 
mass of cassava is placed in this, and it is suspended from 
a beam. One end of a large staff is then placed through 
the loop at the bottom, the woman sits upon the centre of 
the staff, or attaches a heavy stone to the end, and the 
weight stretches the elastic tube, which presses the cassava 
inside, causing the juice to flow through the interstices of 
the plaited material of which it is made. This liquor is 
carefully collected in a vessel placed beneath. It is a most 
deadly poison; Irat after being boiled, it becomes perfectly 
wholesome, and is the nutritious sauce, called casareep, 
which forms the principal ingredient in the pepper-pot, a 
favourite dish of the country." 



THE ABORIGINES OF PERU. 



CHAPTER I. 

PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES OF THE QUICHUAS, AYMARAS, ATACAMAS, 

AND CHANGOS NATURE OF THE COUNTRY PERUVIAN WORKS OF 

ART, ETC. FIRST RUMORS OF THE WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY — 

EXPEDITION OF PASCUAL DE ANDAGOYA FRANCISCO PIZAR. 

RO : HIS FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ALMAGRo's VOYAGE 

CONTRACT OF PIZARRO, ALMAGRO, AND LUQUE THE 

SECOND EXPEDITION — PIZARRO AND HIS COMPANIONS 

UPON THE ISLE OF GORGONA CONTINUATION OF 

THE VOYAGE TUMBEZ RETURN TO PANAMA. 

The Peruvian and Araucanian races alone, among the 
South American aborigines, present subjects of interest to 
the historian. The other tribes of that great portion of 
the western continent are at an infinite remove from these 
in the scale of civilization, and can scarce be said to have 
any separate national history. We shall describe their 
habits and physical appearance, much as we should enter 
upon the duties of the writer upon natural history : an 
attempt to arrange a serial narrative of events, as con- 
nected with them would be useless. 

Widely contrasted with the wild and savage tribes of 
the interior, and of the eastern coast, the Peruvians offer, 
in their character and history, a fruitful theme for the 
attention and research of the historian and the philoso- 
pher. As a nation, they were, when discovered by Euro- 
peans, perfectly unique. Such refinements in government, 



FRANCISCO PIZJIRRO. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 521 

such unity of purpose, and such perfect system, as were 
observable in all their customs and usages, have never been 
even attempted, much less accomplished, by any other 
community throughout the globe. 

The physical conformation of the Quichua race, the 
most prominent among the ancient inhabitants of Peru, is 
somewhat singular. The effects of living at such an im- 
mense elevation as that of many of their cities, and of the 
great plateaus which they inhabit among the Andes, cause 
a remarkable development of the chest. The rarity of the 
air in mountainous districts render a much greater volume 
of it necessary in respiration. The Quichuas have there- 
fore, according to M. d'Orbigny, "very large, square 
shoulders, a broad chest, very voluminous, highly arched, 
and longer than usual, which increases the size of the 
trunk. * * The extremities are nevertheless, very muscu- 
lar, and bespeak great strength; the head is larger than 
usual in proportion to the rest of the body; the hands and 
feet are always small." 

The Quichuas differ, in a marked manner, from most of 
the other South American nations, in the features of the 
countenance. These are said in some degree to approach 
the Mexican type. A prominent acquiline nose, large nos- 
trils, the forehead somewhat retreating, a moderately full 
cerebral development, rather a large mouth, adorned with 
fine teeth, and a short but well defined chin, may be given 
as generally characteristic of the race. 

The Quichuas have beautifully soft, thick, and flowing 
hair, but are almost destitute of beards. Their complex- 
ion is a brown olive, entirely distinct from the reddish or 
copper hue of most of the North American Indians. It 
approaches that of the mulatto more nearly than that of 
the other American aborigines, and is spoken of as singu- 
larly uniform. They are of low stature, particularly those 
who live in the more elevated regions. Their general 



522 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



physiognomy, in the words of the author above cited, "is, 
upon the whole, uniform, serious, reflective, melancholy, 
without, however, showing indifference: it denotes rather 
penetration without frankness. * * Their features alto- 
gether retain a mediocrity of expression. The women 
are seldom very handsome ; their noses are not so promi- 
nent or curved as those of the men : the latter, although 
they have no beard, have a masculine expression, derived 
from their strongly -marked features. An ancient vase, 
which represents with striking fidelity, the features of the 
present race of Quichuas convinces us that for four and 
five centuries their physiognomy has undergone no sen- 
sible alteration." 

The Aymaras, the second in the grand division of the 
Peruvian races, bear a close resemblance to those just 
described. In early times the strange and unnatural cus- 
tom of flattening the head obtained among them, as is fully 
proved by the contour of many skulls found in their 
ancient places of burial or deposit. 

No material variation from the Quichuan bodily forma- 
tion is noticeable in the Atacamas, who inhabit the western 
slope of the Andes; but the Changos, dwelling upon the 
hot levels of the sea-coast, "are of darker hue: their 
colour is a tawny, approaching to black." 

The country inhabited by these three races, although 
lying within the tropics, and in certain localities luxuri- 
antly rich and fertile, presents obstacles to the agricultur- 
alist, which would seem almost insurmountable. Nothing 
but the whole industry of a great nation, directed system- 
atically to the work of reclamation and improvement, 
could ever have made Peru what it was in the days of 
the Incas. 

A flat and sterile plain, washed by the Pacific, forms the 
western boundary of the ancient empire. On this district 
rain never falls; at least, the few drops which at certain 



SOUTH AMEKICAJST INDIANS. 



523 



seasons sprinkle the surface, are insufficient to avail in the 
slightest degree for the promotion of fertility. From the 
stupendous mountain ranges which extend in an unbroken 
course throughout the western sea-board of South Ameri- 
ca, impetuous torrents pour down through the plains 
toward the sea, and, by a laborious and ingenious diver- 
sion, these streams were led by the ancient Peruvians in 
long and massive aqueducts to irrigate the plain or the 
terraces wrought upon the steep sides of the mountains. 
Some mention has been made, in a former chapter, of the 
ruins which still remain to attest the advancement and en- 
terprise of the ancient Peruvians, particularly of the great 
roads by which ready communication was opened over the 
most rugged and naturally impassable country in the world. 
A further description of some of these relics will be given 
hereafter, as connected with their wonderful system of 
government, and its effects in the accomplishment of 
public works. 



Mexico had already fallen into the hands of the Span- 
iards, and their settlements had long been established upon 
the Isthmus, before the world obtained any knowledge 
of the western coast of South America. The national 
thirst for gold, only the more excited by the successes in 
contest with the Aztecs, was roused anew by reports gath- 
ered from the natives of the Isthmus, of a far richer and 
more magnificent empire at the South. 

The first attempt to explore the coast to the southward 
had been made in 1522, by Pascual de Andagoya, but 
he proceeded no further than the Puerto de Pinas, near 
the mouth of the small river Biru. Two years passed 
away without any farther discoveries, at the end of which 
time, the matter was taken in hand by a man whose char- 
acter leaves us at a loss whether we should the more ad- 



524 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



mire his courage, fortitude, and indomitable energy, or 
execrate his cruelty and unscrupulous rapacity. This man 
was Francisco Pizarro. He was, at this time, about fifty 
years of age, the last ten of which, at least, he had passed 
amid the stirring scenes of discovery and conquest in the 
New World. He had, among other adventures, shared 
the dangers and the exultation of Yasco Nugnez de Bal- 
boa, in his first passage of the Isthmus, and his discovery 
of the Western Ocean. He was now residing near 
Panama, and is said to have accumulated but a small 
landed property as the reward of his long labors and 
privations. 

Pizarro was the illegitimate son of a colonel of infantry, 
named Gronzalo Pizarro, and a woman of low rank, resid- 
ing at Truxillo, in Spain, in which city the future con- 
queror was born. In the great enterprise of the conquest 
of Peru, he was associated with one Diego de.Almagro, a 
man of more uncertain origin, and less favored by worldly 
prosperity, even than himself. This companion in arms 
was, at all events, a brave and gallant soldier. Fortunately 
for the two adventurers, they succeeded in securing the 
assistance of Hernando de Luque, an ecclesiastic occupied 
in the duties of his profession at Panama. With such funds 
as could be raised by these three, a vessel was procured, 
and about one hundred men were enlisted to share the 
danger and profits of the expedition. Pedrarias, the Span- 
ish governor, sanctioned the proceeding, stipulating, at the 
same time, for a proportion of the gold that should be 
brought home. 

In November, 1524, Pizarro set sail, leaving Almagro 
to prepare another vessel which they had purchased, and 
to follow as soon as possible. Nothing but disaster marked 
this first voyage. Storms at sea ; conflicts with natives on 
shore; sickness, exposure, and starvation, thinned the num- 
bers and broke down the spirit of the party. Pizarro 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



525 



alone appears to have maintained an unshaken fortitude 
and determination. 

No provisions could be procured at the spots where the 
voyagers landed, and it became necessary to send the ves- 
sel back for supplies. About half the company, under 
one Montenegro, was dispatched for this purpose, leaving 
the rest of the adventurers upon the swampy, unwhole- 
some coast, not far from the mouth of the Biru, to support 
themselves as best they could amid an almost impenetrable 
wilderness of rank tropical vegetation. Nearly half their 
number perished before any relief was obtained. When 
at the extremity of distress, the sight of a distant light 
amid the forest awakened their hopes, and Pizarro, with 
a small scouting party, led by this token of human habit- 
ation, penetrated the thicket to an Indian village. His 
hungry followers seized on whatever offered. As the na- 
tives, who had at first fled in terror, gradually approached 
and held communication with them, their hopes were again 
revived by the sight of rude ornaments in gold, and by 
the confirmation of the reports concerning a rich empire 
at the south. 

It was six weeks from the time of his departure before 
Montenegro returned to rescue his remaining companions. 
With renewed hope and zeal, the party reembarked, and 
continued to coast along the shore. After landing at other 
places, and experiencing severe encounters with the war- 
like natives, it was found necessary to return to Panama 
to refit. 

Almagro, in the mean time, had followed in the same 
course, with the second vessel, and landed at most of the 
places visited by Pizarro. He was more successful in his 
engagements with the natives than the first party had 
proved; and succeeded in extending his voyage as far 
south as the river of San Juan. At this place unmistake- 
able tokens of approach to a well-cultivated and inhab- 



526 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



itecl country presented themselves. Finding no further 
traces of Pizarro and his companions, and supposing that 
they must have perished or have been compelled to return, 
Almagro now turned his course towards Panama. He 
brought home more gold and more favorable reports than 
his partner; but the disasters, losses, and miserable con- 
dition of the first voyagers tended to throw almost insur- 
mountable obstacles in the way of a second attempt. 

The three confederates — Pizarro, Almagro, and Father 
Luque — continued as sanguine as ever. The necessary 
funds were obtained by the latter, as is said, of one Gras- 
par de Espinosa, in whose name he acted, and in whose 
behalf he stipulated for one-third of all returns which 
should result from a successful completion of the immense 
undertaking. A solemn contract was entered into between 
the parties, strengthened by all the ceremonials of oaths 
and religious services. Neither of the two soldiers could 
write, and their signatures were executed in their presence, 
by the witnesses to the instrument of contract. 

Pedrarias had been succeeded by Don Pedro de los Eios, 
and the new governor assented to the second expedition. 
This was undertaken with two vessels, carrying about one 
hundred and sixty men and a few horses. The services 
of Bartholomew Euiz, a skilful pilot, were secured. The 
adventurers steered direct for the mouth of the San Juan, 
and, landing at an Indian village on the river, obtained 
some plunder in gold, and seized upon the persons of a 
few of the natives. The country appeared too populous 
to offer much chance of success to such a small band of 
invaders. Almagro was therefore sent back to enlist more 
men at home, while Euiz, with the other vessel, explored 
the coast further to the south, and Pizarro remained near 
the river, with a portion of the crew. The latter endured 
much from famine, exposure, and fatigue, during the ab- 
sence of Euiz. Attempting to penetrate into the interior, 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



527 



in hopes of finding a more open country, they were com- 
pletely worn down and dispirited. 

The pilot, in the mean time, had made his way far south- 
ward. He had crossed the equator, and touched at several 
places, where the dense population and well-built dwell- 
ings gave proofs of no little advancement in civilization. 
He brought with** him several Indian prisoners, taken at 
sea, upon one of the rude boats, or rather rafts, called 
"balsas," in which they were voyaging. Some of these 
were from the port of Tumbez, and their marvellous ac- 
counts of the quantities of gold and silver used by their 
monarch, roused anew the cupidity of the Spaniards. 

Almagro soon after arrived with numerous fresh re- 
cruits, and, what with the glowing reports of Kuiz, and 
this addition to their force, the weakened and despairing 
followers of Pizarro regained their former hopes and cour- 
age. The whole company again set sail for the land of 
promise. At Tacames, near the mouth of the Santiago, 
where the present town of Esmeraldas is situated, the 
flourishing appearance of the country invited the voyagers 
to land ; but they were opposed by thousands of armed 
natives, who attacked them with great fury. It was sup- 
posed that all the Christians must have perished in this 
onslaught, but for a strange mistake on the part of the 
Indians. A few of the Spaniards were mounted upon 
horses — a sight never before witnessed in Peru — and one 
of the cavaliers happening #5 fall from his horse, the In- 
dians supposed that a single enemy had become- two. The 
horse and his rider were taken for but one animal, and the 
confusion and amazement caused by the sight of such a 
prodigious separation, gave the Spaniards an opportunity 
to retreat. 

It was plain that a greater force was necessary to make 
any advantageous progress in the new empire, and again 
was one of the little vessels sent back to Panama for rein- 



# 



528 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

forcements, while Pizarro and a portion of his forces took 
up their quarters upon the little island of Gallo. They 
suffered every extremity before supplies reached them 
from the north, and when two vessels loaded with stores 
made their appearance, there was a general cry for return. 

Pizarro, fortified in his determination by encouraging 
letters from his allies, harangued his followers, and gave 
them their free choice whether to go forward in search of 
fame and wealth, or to return in poverty and disgrace to 
Panama. Thirteen only had the resolution to proffer their 
further services. The commander of the store-ships, who 
was instructed by the governor to bring back the party, 
refused to leave either of his vessels for the use of these 
few valorous spirits, and, grudgingly bestowing upon them 
a portion of his provisions, set sail, leaving them, as was 
supposed, to certain destruction. 

Upon this island, and upon that of Gorgona, twenty -five 
leagues to the northward, (whither they migrated on a raft, 
for better quarters,) the little party spent seven miserable 
and solitary months. By great exertions, Almagro and 
Luque procured another vessel, and the governor's per- 
mission to relieve their associates ; but this was not ob- 
tained without a positive injunction to Pizarro to return 
within six months. No recruits were taken on board, 
beyond the necessary crew of the vessel. Euiz had charge 
of the craft, and the sight of its approach soon gladdened 
the desponding hearts of the 1 destitute and half-famished 
expectants at Gorgona. 

Without hesitation the little band stood once more for 
the south, leaving two of their number ill on the island, 
in charge of some of the friendly natives, who were still 
detained in their company. After twenty days' sail, in 
which they passed, without landing, the spots of former 
exploration, the vessel entered the unknown gulf of 
Guayaquil. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



529 



As the Spaniards directed their course towards the city 
of Tumbez, the residence of the Indian captives, they en- 
countered many natives, in the balsas which served them 
for boats. These strange craft were made of logs of light 
wood, secured together, and fitted with masts and sails. 
The crews of these rafts, in the midst of their amazement 
at the prodigy before their eyes, recognized the Indians on 
board, and learning from them that the strangers were 
bound merely upon exploration, returned to satisfy the 
curiosity of the eager crowds gathered upon the shore. 

A peaceful communication was soon established, and the 
sea- wearied Spaniards were refreshed by bountiful supplies 
of the tropical luxuries furnished by the kindly natives. 
Llamas, or Peruvian camels, as they were called, were now 
for the first time exhibited and offered to the visitors. A 
great noble, of the royal race of the Incas, came on board, 
and was courteously entertained by Pizarro, who pointed 
out and explained the mysteries of the vessel and its 
accoutrements. 

The officers of the Spanish company were, in turn, 
feasted at the house of the curaca, or governor of the 
province, and were shown the royal temple and fortresses. 
Some of the apartments were adorned with such a rich 
profusion of massive golden ornaments and plating, that 
the dazzled Spaniards now trusted in the speedy realiza- 
tion of their long-deferred hopes. 

From Tumbez, Pizarro coasted southward as far as the 
island and port of Santa, some distance beyond the site of 
the present Truxillo, stopping at various towns and settle- 
ments on his route. The strangers were every where re- 
ceived with hospitality, kindness, and the most lively 
curiosity, and enough was seen fully to convince them of 
the richness, civilization, and prosperity of the thickly 
populated empire. 

Eeturning to Panama, they again stopped at Tumbez and 
34 



530 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



other important ports, and thence brought away specimens 
of the productions of the country ; among other things, a 
number of llamas. At their own request, several of the 
Spaniards were left at Tumbez, to enjoy the luxury and 
ease which seemed to be offered by a life among the kindly 
natives. A young Peruvian, named Felipillo, with one or 
two companions, was taken on board the vessel, that he 
might be instructed in the Spanish language, and that his 
appearance might satisfy the incredulous, at home, as to 
the character of the inhabitants of Peru. 

The troubles of the enterprising trio to whom these dis- 
coveries were owing were not yet at an end. The derision 
and contumely which had tended so long to damp their 
spirits, was, indeed, changed to congratulations and eager 
astonishment at the return and reports of Pizarro ; but the 
governor frowned upon the prosecution of the enterprise. 
"He did not wish," says Herrera, "to depopulate his own 
district in order to people new countries " — the gold, silver, 
and sheep which had been exhibited, seemed to him but 
a paltry return for the expenditure of such an amount of 
lives and money, and the endurance of such hardships and 
suffering as were the fruits of the first expeditions. 

Before continuing the account of the steps by which the 
great work of conquest was finally achieved, it will be well 
to take a brief view of the condition of the devoted country 
at the period of its discovery. 

The two great monarchies of Mexico and Peru, both of 
them in a state of semi-civilization at the period of Sjmn- 
ish discoveries and conquests, are closely associated in our 
minds. The thoughts of one naturally suggests that of the 
other. "We shall, however, find, upon an examination of 
history, that these nations were widely dissimilar : neither, 
in all human probability, had any knowledge of the other's 
existence, and no intercourse could have been maintained 
between them from a period of the most remote antiquity. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



531 



"Without going into a direct comparison between these 
countries, their respective governments, religion, and na- 
tional customs, we shall enter sufficiently into particulars 
in treating the present subject, to give the reader such a 
general idea of its details that he can himself perceive the 
contrasts and dissimilarities above mentioned. 



CHAPTEE II. 

MYTHOLOGICAL TRADITIONS — TOPA INCA YUPANQUI, AND HIS SON 

HTJAYNA CAPAC THE PERUVIAN CAPITAL RELIGIOUS SYSTEM 

GOVERNMENT AGRARIAN LAW LLAMAS PUBLIC RECORDS I 

THE " QUIPU " AGRICULTURE MARRIAGES WARLIKE POL- 
ICY OF THE INCAS THE GREAT ROADS CONTENTMENT 

OF THE NATIVES DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE : HUASCAR 

AND ATAHUALLPA CONTEST FOR SUPREMACY. 

According to Peruvian mythology, the whole country 
was, in early times, as savage and barbarous as the neigh- 
boring nations of the East. Manco Capac, and his sister 
and wife, Mama Oello Huaco, two children of the Sun, 
settling in the valley of Cuzco, began the work of regen- 
eration. They taught the arts of civilized life, and from 
them sprang the long line of the Incas whose glorious 
kingdom was at the height of its prosperity when discov- 
ered by the Spaniards. Other traditions, more worthy of 
study and reflection, speak of 11 bearded white men" to whose 
immigration the commencement of improvement was due. 

We gather little of connected or reliable tradition earlier 
than the reign of Topa Inca Yupanqui. This monarch's 
victories widely extended the domains bequeathed him by 
his ancestors. By his warlike achievements, and those of 
his son, Huayna Capac, the Peruvian empire was extended 
from the southern portion of Chili to the boundaries of the 



532 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

present republic of New Grenada. The centre of govern- 
ment, and site of the royal palace, the great temple of the 
sun, and the most celebrated fortification, were at Cuzco, in ] 
the interior. The town was situated in a valley of the 
table-land, at an immense height above the leA r el of the 
sea, an altitude which secured to it a delightful climate in 
those tropical regions. 

The principal buildings of the capital were of hewn 
i stone, wrought entirely by instruments of copper, hard- 
: ened by an alloy of tin ; for, like the Mexicans, the people 
of Peru were entirely ignorant of the use of iron. A cer- 
tain perfection of workmanship, seldom attempted in more 
advanced nations, and only elsewhere observable in the 
casings of the great Egyptian pyramids, is described as 
peculiar to the laying of the courses of stone in these an- 
cient buildings. For the most part no cement was used, 
but the blocks were so accurately fitted that "it was im- 
possible to introduce even the blade of a knife between 
them." Mr. Prescott, giving, as his authority, the meas- 
urements and descriptions of Acosta and Garcilasso, says : 
"Many of these stones were of vast size; some of them 
being full thirty-eight feet long, by eighteen broad, and 
six feet thick. * * These enormous masses were hewn 
from their native bed, and fashioned into shape by a peo- 
ple ignorant of the use of iron; they were brought from 
quarries, from four to fifteen leagues distant, without the 
aid of beasts of burden; were transported across rivers 
and ravines, raised to their elevated position on the sierra, 
and finally adjusted there with the nicest accuracy, with- 
out the knowledge of tools and machinery familiar to the 
European." 

At Cuzco stood the great temple of the sun, by far the 
most resplendent with gold and ornament of all the pub- 
lic edifices of Peru. The description of this central point 
of the religious system of the country vies with those of 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



533 



fairy palaces in Arabian tales. It was built of stone, but, 
by a strange contrast of magnificence with rudeness, was 
thatched with straw. The most striking object in the in- 
terior was a huge golden sun, represented by the figure of 
a human face, surrounded with rays. This was so placed 
as to receive the first beams of the rising sun. The whole 
building sparkled with golden ornament; even upon the 
outside a heavy belt of gold is said to have been let into 
the stone wall around the whole extent of the edifice. 
Great vases of the precious metals stood in the open space 
of the interior, filled with offerings of maize, and no less 
valuable material was used for the various tools and im- 
plements connected with the establishment. 

This profusion of gold and silver, which, although in 
inferior degree, was noticeable in the royal palaces and 
temples throughout the empire, resulted from the circum- 
stance that the mines were a government monopoly. No 
money was used, and consequently the whole product of 
the country, in this line, was collected in the coffers of the 
Inca, or displayed in the gorgeous ornaments which 
adorned the temples. The mines were worked by bodies 
of laborers systematically drafted from the common peo- 
ple, to serve for specified periods. 

The Peruvians had some idea of an invisible deity, 
whose supremacy they acknowledged, and to whom hom y - 
age was rendered, but the sun was their chief object of 
worship. The moon and stars took the place of subordi- 
nate divinities. By virtue of his office, the Inca was the 
head of the visible church, and high-priest of the sun; 
all the other religious functionaries were of the nobility, 
viz: descendants in the male line of the royal family. 
One lawful wife gave birth to the successor to the throne, 
but from the innumerable concubines kept by the empe- 
ror sprang the race of Inca nobility, distinguished by dress 
and occupation from the body of the people. 



534 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



A most singular resemblance to the ancient order of the 
vestal virgins existed in that of the Peruvian Yirgins of 
the Sun. These were set apart, at an early age, for the 
services of the temple, the preparations of its tapestry and 
ornaments, and especially for the preservation of the sa- 
cred fire. Terrible penalties followed the violation of 
chastity by either of these devotees, always excepting the 
privileges of the Inca, to whom they were subservient as 
" brides," or concubines. The office did not necessarily 
continue during life: many of these "Yirgins" were dis- 
missed to their paternal homes from time to time, and 
were ever thereafter held in great honor and veneration. 
The religious ceremonies and festivals familiar to the na- 
tion were singularly numerous and complicated: an enu- 
meration of them would be, for the most part, wearisome 
and devoid of interest. 

The Peruvian system of government merits a more 
particular attention. Here, for the first time in the history 
of the world, we see the results of a paternal despotism 
carried to its most extravagant extent, yet meeting the 
apparent wants of the people, and universally acquiesced 
in and approved by them. From generation to generation 
the whole mass of the commonalty was shut out from 
any possibility of change or improvement, and subjected to 
immutable rules in every employment or privilege of life. 

The whole empire was minutely divided and subdivi- 
ded into districts, according to population, and over each 
of these departments a curaca or governor was set to main- 
tain law. The penal code was sufficiently severe, and 
rigidly enforced ; in all matters of private right there was 
no room for contention among the citizens, as the state 
prescribed every man's place of residence, the amount and 
nature of his employment, and the provision necessary for 
his support. 

The government assumed the entire ownership of the 



SOUTH AMEBIC AN INDIANS. 535 

soil, which was divided into three parts for the following 
uses: The first was set apart to support the whole exten- 
sive system of religion; the second sustained the royal 
court, and furnished the "civil list" for the accomplish- 
ment of all public works, and to defray the current ex- 
penses of the empire ; and the third was yearly divided 
among the people. The apportionment was made to each 
family, according to its numbers, and, unless some good 
cause should appear to the contrary, it is supposed that the 
same spot was continued in the possession of its proprie- 
tor from year to year. The public domains were culti- 
vated by the people in mass, and, in the management of 
the private allotments, vigilant care was taken, by the 
appropriate officers, that no one should be idle, no one 
over-burdened with labor, and no one in a state of suffer- 
ing from want. 

The only beast of burden in Peru was 1 * the llama. The 
immense herds of this animal were, without exception, 
the property of the state, and under the management of 
government officials. The wool and hair of the llama fur- 
nished the most important material for the clothing of the 
whole population, but before it reached its ultimate desti- 
nation it must pass through the hands of appointed agents, 
and, after the separation and preparation of the portion 
devoted to religious and royal purposes, be equitably par- 
celled out and distributed among the private families. The 
manufacture of cloth was more especially the business of 
women and children. No man had the power to choose 
his own employment. A select number of artisans were 
set apart and instructed in such mechanical sciences as 
were known to the age and country, while the mass of the 
population were employed in agricultural labors, or, by a 
systematic apportionment among the different districts, were 
engaged upon the vast works of public utility or magnifi- 
cence which astonished the eyes of the Spanish invaders. 



536 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The most exact accounts were kept, by certain appointed 
officers, of the entire population and resources of the em- 
pire. No birth, marriage, or death, was suffered to pass 
unchronicled, and an immense amount of statistical matter, 
relative to the condition of the people, the productions of 
the soil, the extent of manufactures, &c, was regularly and 
systematically returned to the proper department. The 
substitute for writing, by which these results, and even 
much more abstract particulars (as of dates and historical 
events), were perpetuated, was exceedingly ingenious and 
unique. It consisted of the "quipu," viz: a cord of strands 
varying in color, from which depended numerous short 
threads at regular distances. A series of knots in these 
appendages (which were, like the strands of the main cord, 
of various colors) served to express any amount in num- 
bers, and the difference in hue designated the subject to 
which they were applied. The endless combinations which 
could be effected in this system of knots might, as we can 
readily perceive, be extended to the expression of a very 
wide range of ideas. In the words of Mr. Prescott : "The 
peculiar knot, or color, in this way (by association) sug- 
gested what it could not venture to represent; in the same 
manner— to borrow the homely illustration of an old 
writer—as the number of the Commandment calls to mind 
the Commandment itself. * * * The narrative thus 
concocted could be communicated only by oral tradition; 
but the quipus served the chronicler to arrange the inci- 
dents with method, and to refresh his memory." 

In some of the sciences, particularly in astronomy, the 
Peruvians were far behind the Aztecs. A few simple ob- 
servations of the movements of the planets; and the meas- 
urement of shadows to mark the solstices, equinoxes, &c. 
formed the limit of their speculations or experiments' In 
the more practical and necessary arts of husbandry and 
agriculture, not even the laborious and patient population 



SOUTH AMERICAN" INDIANS. 



537 



of China could excel the subjects of the Incas. The ex- 
tent of the acqueducts, to conduct the mountain-streams 
through the arid fields where rain never fell ; the immense 
excavations made to reach a moist soil, fifteen or twenty 
feet below the surface; and other mighty undertakings 
which individual enterprise could never have accomplish- 
ed, evince the effects that a complete centralization of 
power can produce. Were it not for the ruins, of which 
modern travellers give us measurement and description, we 
should be tempted to throw aside the early histories of 
Peruvian achievements as gross exaggerations. The use 
of guano for manure was common, and the gathering 
and application of it were in accordance with rigid and 
careful regulations. The destruction, or even the disturb- 
ance of the birds to whom the formation is owing, was 
punished by death. A plough was used in the cultivation 
of the land, but it was rudely and simply constructed of 
wood, and was forced through the earth by human thews 
and sinews. The unequalled diversity in soil and climate 
provided suitable localities for a variety in vegetable pro- 
ductions seldom seen within the same limits. Bananas, 
Indian corn, potatoes, a grain called quinoa, and many 
other well-known crops, were successfully cultivated. The 
desire for stimulants and narcotics, so universal to man- 
kind, was satisfied by a liquor brewed from maize, by to- 
bacco, and by the coca or cuca, whose leaves possess some- 
thing of the sedative qualities of the latter plant. 

We have mentioned the control exercised by the gov- 
ernment over the private affairs of every citizen; this 
extended even to the ties of affinity. Every person was 
required to marry at an appointed age, (eighteen in females, 
and twenty-four in males,) and, although a certain degree 
of choice was left to the individual in the selection of a 
partner, it must be confined within a specified district or 
community. The Inca always married his sister, that the 



538 



ES'DIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



purity of the royal blood might not be contaminated, but 
such a connection was forbidden between any of lowerrank. 

Although the mass of the people were constantly em- 
ployed in the operations of peaceful husbandry, the policy 
of the Inca dynasty towards neighboring nations was 
essentially warlike. The youth of the nobility, and espe- 
cially the presumptive heir to the throne, were instructed 
in the arts of war, and subjected to a routine of bodily 
exercise and trials of fortitude not unlike that practised by 
the^ ruder nations of North America, in the initiation of 
their future warriors. 

An extensive militia system was enforced, and, in time 
of war, troops were drafted from the different districts in 
some proportion to the population: regard being had to 
the hardihood and energy of the various races, in making 
the levy. Axes, lances, darts, bows and arrows, and slings^ 
formed the principal weapons of offence. The soldiers 
were also supplied with the quilted coats of such common 
use in past ages, to ward off arrows and sword-thrusts, and 
with helmets of skins or wood. 

The great roads, led along the mountain ridges, or by 
the level plain of the sea-coast, furnished ready means of 
transit to the royal armies throughout the extent of the 
empire. Enough of these yet remains to excite the ad- 
miration of every traveller. Of the principal of these 
roads, Mr. Prescott speaks as follows: "It was conducted 
over pathless sierras buried in snow; galleries were cut 
for leagues through the Eying rock; rivers were crossed 
by means of bridges that hung suspended in the air; pre- 
cipices were scaled by stairways hewn out of the native 
bed; ravines of hideous depth were filled up with solid 
masonry; in short, all the difficulties that beset a wild and 
mountainous region, and which might appall the most 
courageous engineer of modern times, were encountered 
and successfully overcome. The length of the road, of 



SOUTH AMEKICAN INDIANS. 



539 



which scattered fragments only remain, is variously esti- 
mated from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles." No 
celebrated conqueror of the old world ever pursued such 
perfect system and method in the conduct of a campaign 
as did the Incas. Stations for couriers were built at regu- 
lar intervals throughout the main routes, by means of which 
messages or light burdens could be conveyed with in- 
credible celerity to any required distance. Granaries and 
store-houses filled with supplies for the army stood, under 
care of appointed officers, at convenient intervals, and all 
these provisions and supplies being furnished from the 
state funds, no man felt them as an extraordinary burden. 

A strange but sagacious policy was observed towards a 
conquered nation. The Peruvian worship of the sun was 
immediately introduced; all the laws of the empire were 
enforced, and its customs established; but, that the yoke 
might not be too galling, the privileges as well as the 
duties of a subject were extended to the conquered people. 
The former nobles and governors were not uncommonly 
continued in office, and a paternal care was taken of the 
necessities and interests of the whole populace. With all 
this, no steps were omitted which would tend to completely 
denationalize the newly-acquired country. Large colonies 
of Peruvians were transplanted from their own country to 
the new, and their places supplied by an equal number of 
those whose habitations they occupied. The language of 
the conquerors was every where introduced, and its use 
encouraged until, with the lapse of years, a complete as- 
similation was brought about. 

All this complete course of despotism was said by the 
Spanish historians, who wrote from observation, and be- 
fore the old order of things was entirely overturned, to be 
precisely that which was best adapted to the Peruvian 
race, and to the country and climate which they inhabited. 
The people were contented with their lot, and looked upon 



540 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



their priests and rulers with, the utmost reverence. " Ne- 
man could be rich," says Prescott, "no man could be poor, 
in Peru; but all might enjoy, and did enjoy, a competence. 
Ambition, avarice, the love of change, the morbid spirit 
of discontent, those passions which most agitate the minds 
of men, found no place in the bosom of the Peruvian. * * 
He moved on in the same unbroken circle in which his 
fathers had moved before him, and in which his children 
were to follow." 

We cannot help a feeling of natural regret that the 
ruthless invasion of the Spaniards should have uprooted 
all these ancient and venerated customs. There was not, 
as with the Aztecs, a bloody system of religion, whose 
annihilation could reconcile us to almost any violence on 
the part of those who came to overturn it. There were, 
indeed, occasional scenes of human sacrifice at the great 
religious solemnities; but these were the exception, not 
the rule. The people at large lived on in peace and 
quietness, contented with the government and institutions 
under whose influence they lived, and by whose care they 
were secured in the possession of the competencies of life. 

We have already mentioned the successes and conquests 
of Tupac Yupanqui, and his son Huayna Capac. The 
latter prince, having reduced the kingdom of Quito, the 
modern Equador, took up his residence at its capital, and 
devoted his attention to beautifying his acquisition, and 
establishing the Peruvian policy upon a firm basis through- 
out its limits. 

The first expeditions of the Spaniards to the Peruvian 
coast, took place during the latter years of this monarch, 
and the accounts are said to have filled his mind with 
gloomy forebodings of the overthrow of his empire. His 
sagacious perception readily recognized the vast superi- 
| ority over his own nation, evident in the vessels, arms, 
| intelligence, and enterprise of the strangers. Huayna 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN'S. 



541 



Capac died about the year 1525, leaving his only legitimate 
son, Huascar, the regular successor to his throne. Instead 
of confirming the old order of descent, the king's fondness 
for another son, named Atahuallpa, (Atabalipa, as spelt by 
many old writers) led him, upon his death-bed, to bestow 
upon this favorite a portion of his kingdom. Upon the sub- 
version of the ancient dynasty at Quito, Huayna Capac had 
taken the daughter of the last native prince as one of his 
concubines. From this union sprung the prince of whom 
we are speaking. The share of empire bequeathed to 
Atahuallpa was that of his maternal ancestors, in which 
his father had so long resided, and to whose improvement 
he had devoted his declining years. The rest of the wide 
domains of Peru were left in possession of Huascar. 

This new order of things produced no evil effects for 
about five years. Huascar maintained his court at the 
old capital, Cuzco, while Atahuallpa remained at Quito ; 
neither interfering with the other's rights of jurisdiction. 
Their respective subjects readily acquiesced in the new 
arrangement. 

Different accounts are given of the first causes of rup- 
ture between the brothers; but whatever occasioned it, 
the contest which ensued was bloody and disastrous in the 
extreme. But for the disturbed and distracted state of the 
empire consequent upon this civil war, it would have been 
utterly impossible for the Spaniards, with the insignificant 
force which they finally brought into the field, to have 
overcome and subverted such an immense and power- 
ful empire. 

The first important engagement between the armies of 
the contending princes took place at Hambata, about 
sixty leagues south from Quito. In this battle, Huascar's 
forces were utterly defeated, and his victorious brother 
pressed onward to Tumebamba, no great distance from 
Tumbez. This city belonged to Atahuallpa's kingdom, 



542 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



but the inhabitants had taken up arms in favor of Huas- 
car. In vain did they sue for mercy from the conqueror: 
the whole district was ravaged, and all male adults were 
put to death. Proceeding on his march, Atahuallpa 
reached Caxamalca, where he took up his quarters, and 
sent forward the chief portion of his army to meet the 
forces prepared for the protection of the ancient capital 
of Peru. 

A bloody and desperate battle was fought near the city, 
in which the invader was again completely victorious. 
Huascar was taken prisoner, and placed in close confine- 
ment, but his brother had enough of natural humanity to 
order that all respect should be shown him in his fallen 
fortunes. If we are to believe some accounts, Atahuallpa 
sullied the fame which his successes might have acquired 
him, by acts of the most unheard-of barbarity. It is said 
that he put to death, and that too by lingering tortures, 
all of the royal family upon whom he could lay his hands, 
including the female branches of the family, that he might 
cut off all possibility of a rival appearing to contest his 
right to the throne. Modern historians have pointed out 
so many discrepancies and improbabilities in the details 
of this transaction, that they must be now considered as 
grossly exaggerated, if not utterly false. 

Atahuallpa, now claiming the title of Inca, and rejoicing 
in the possession of the whole of the immense empire of 
his father, held his court at Caxamalca. In the midst of 
his exultation and triumph, news was brought of a fresL 
arrival of Spanish ships upon the coast. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



543 



CHAPTER III. 

PIZARRO's VISIT TO SPAIN AND APPLICATION TO THE EMPEROR 

HIS FOUR BROTHERS FUNDS PROCURED FOR A NEW EXPEDITION 

TO PERU VESSELS AGAIN FITTED OUT AT PANAMA LANDING 

OF THE SPANIARDS UPON THE PERUVIAN COAST PLUNDER 

AT COAQUE THE MARCH TOWARDS TUMBEZ— BATTLES 

ON THE ISLE OF PUNA TUMBEZ DESERTED SETTLE- 
MENT OF SAN MIGUEL MARCH INTO THE INTERIOR 

PASSAGE OF THE ANDES MESSAGES FROM 

ATAHUALLPA — -ENTRY INTO CAXAMALCA. 

As Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque, received no encour- 
agement from the governor, at Panama, in the prosecution 
of their plans ; and as their funds were exhausted by the 
first expeditions, it became necessary to seek the assistance 
of some powerful patron, or to abandon the enterprise. 
In this emergency, Luque advised an immediate application 
to the Spanish court. In the discussion of the question as 
to who should undertake this duty, Almagro strongly 
urged the expediency of trusting the whole matter to the 
prudence and soldierly intrepidity of his unlettered com- 
panion-in-arms, Pizarro. He was the man who had seen 
and experienced more than any other of the nature of 
the land of promise, and his unflinching determination 
and perseverance seemed to qualify him as well to press 
his suit at court, as to undergo the disappointments and 
physical hardships of the conquest itself. 

Pizarro consented to the proposal, and sailed for Spain, 
where he arrived early in the summer of 1528, carrying 
with him specimens of Peruvian art and wealth, together 
with natives of the country, and several of the beasts of 
burden peculiar to Peru. He was favorably received, and 
his accounts were credited by the Emperor Charles the 
Fifth ; and the royal consent was obtained to the prosecu- 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



tion of the mighty undertaking of conquest. No pecuniary 
assistance, however, was rendered or promised. Prospec- 
tive honors and emoluments were bestowed upon Pizarro 
and his two associates, contingent upon their success, and 
I tlie latter t0 be drawn entirely from the conquered nation. 
Pizarro was to be governor, adelantado and alguacil 
mayor of Peru, which office he was to fill for life, and to 
which a large salary was to be attached. Almagro was 
placed in altogether an inferior position, as commander at 
Tumbez; and Father Luque was declared Bishop of that 
district, now to be converted into a see of the church. 
One-fifth of the gold and silver to be obtained by plunder, 
and one-tenth of • all gained by mining was reserved as a 
royal perquisite. 

Pizarro immediately set himself to raise funds and enlist 
men for the proposed conquest. He was joined by his 
four brothers, one of whom, Hernando Pizarro, was a 
I legitimate son of Gonzalo. The other three, Gonzalo and 
Juan Pizarro, and Francisco de Alcontara were illegitimate 
children, and connected with the hero of our narrative, 
the two first on the father's side, the latter on that of 
the mother. 

It was no easy matter to provide money for the necessary 
expenses of so hazardous an exploit as that proposed; but 
fortunately for Pizarro, Hernando Cortez, the renowned 
conqueror of Mexico, was at this time in Spain, and, after 
seeing and conferring with him, furnished, from his own 
ample stores, what was needed to complete an outfit. g| 
Upon Pizarro's return to America, serious quarrels 
ensued between him and Almagro, who, as appears justly, 
thought himself grossly neglected in the arrangements 
entered into with the Spanish government. Luque also 
distrusted the good faith of his emissary, and it seemed 
too evident to both of these parties to the old contract, 
that Pizarro would readily throw them aside, should occa- 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



545 



! I sion offer, and advance his own relations in their steacL 
j ; These difficulties were, by Pizarro's representations, prom- 
I j ises, and concessions, for the time smoothed over, and 
| three vessels were fitted out at Panama for the grand 
| expedition. Those in which the recruits had been brought 
j over from Spain, were necessarily left upon the other side 
J | of the Isthmus. 

It was not until January, of 1531, that the adventurers 
set sail. The company consisted of less than two hundred 
I men, twenty-seven of whom were provided with horses; 
I the advantage of even a small body of cavalry in fights 
; with the Indians having been so strikingly apparent in the 
proceedings at Mexico. Tumbez, on the southern shore 
of the gulf of Guayaquil, was the port for which the little 
fleet steered its course, but, owing to head winds and other 
difficulties in navigation, a landing was made at the bay 
' of St. Matthew's. Pizarro, with the armed force, went on 
| shore at this place, not far from where Esmeraldas now 
; stands, and marched southward, while the vessels coasted 
| j along the shore. Feeling himself strong enough to com- 

I > mence serious operations, the unprincipled invader no 

I I longer put on the cloak of friendship, but without warn- 
I ing fell upon the first Indian town in his route. This was 
j in the district of Coaque. The natives fled, leaving their 
j treasures to be seized and plundered by the Spaniards. 

j A considerable quantity of gold, and a great number of 
the largest and most valuable emeralds fell into the hands 

j of the rapacious adventurers. The spoil was collected, 

j and publicly distributed, according to regulated portions, 
among the company, it being death to secrete any private 

j plunder. The royal fifth was deducted previous to the 

| dhdsion. 

The vessels were sent back to Panama to excite, by the 
display of these treasures, the cupidity of new recruits, 
while the little army continued its march towards 'Tumbez. 
35 



546 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



The natives of the villages through which they passed, 
learning, in advance of the Spaniards' approach, the course 
pursued at Coaque, abandoned their homes, bearing all 
their valuables with them. Privation and suffering en- 
sued. The tropical heat of the country, famine and 
fatigue, began to dishearten the troops. Worse than all, 
a singular and malignant cutaneous disease began to spread 
among them. Large warts or vascular excresences broke 
out upon those attacked, which, if opened, bled so pro- 
fusely as to cause death. "The epidemic," says Prescott, 
"which made its first appearance during this invasion, and 
which did not long survive it, spread over the whole 
country, sparing neither native nor white man." 

The distresses of the Spaniards were somewhat relieved 
by the arrival of a vessel from Panama, in which came a 
number of new state officers, appointed by the Emperor 
Charles since Pizarro's departure from Spain, bringing 
with them a quantity of provision. With some slight 
further reinforcement, the commander brought his troops 
to the gulf of Guayaquil, and, by invitation from the isl- 
anders, who had never been reduced by the Peruvian 
monarchs, and still maintained a desultory warfare with 
their forces, he took up his quarters upon the isle of 
Puna. The inhabitants of Tumbez, (lying, as we have 
mentioned, upon the southern shore of the gulf, and oppo- 
site the island,) came over, in large numbers, to welcome 
the whites, trusting to their friendly demonstrations at the 
time of the early expeditions. Difficulties soon arose from 
the bringing of these hostile Indian races in contact. 
Pizarro was told that a conspiracy had been formed by 
some of the island chiefs, to massacre him and his follow- 
ers. Without delay, he seized upon the accused, and 
delivered them over to their old enemies of Tumbez for 
destruction. The consequence was a furious attack by the 
islanders. The thousands of dusky warriors who sur- 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



547 



rounded the little encampment, were dispersed and driven 
into the thickets, with very small loss to the well-armed 
and mail-clad Europeans. The discharge of musketry, 
and the rush of mounted men, glistening with defensive 
armor, seldom failed to break the lines, and confuse the 
movements even of the bravest and most determined 
savages. 

After their victory Pizarro found his situation extremely 
precarious, for the enemies whom he had driven into the 
forest continued to harass and weary his army by night 
attacks, and the difficulty of procuring provisions daily 
increased. He became desirous of passing over to the 
main as speedily as possible, and his good fortune sent 
him, at this period, such assistance as rendered the contin- 
uance of his enterprise more hopeful. This was afforded 
by the arrival of the celebrated Hernando de Soto, whose 
romantic adventures in after-life, have been briefly chron- 
icled in the early part of this volume, under the title of the 
Florida Indians. De Soto brought out one hundred men 
and a considerable number of horses. Thus reinforced, 
the commander of the expedition at once undertook the 
transportation of his men and stores across to Tumbez. 

Instead of rejoicing their eyes with the splendor of this 
celebrated city, and luxuriating in its wealth, the Spaniards 
found the whole place dilapidated and deserted. Such of 
the Indians as appeared, manifested a decidedly hostile 
disposition, and several of the party engaged in transport- 
ing the baggage and provisions, upon balsas or rafts, were 
seized and slain. Most of the houses of the city were 
found to be destroyed, and the costly ornaments and 
decorations were all stripped from the temple. It cannot 
be certainly known, at this day, what were the causes for 
this conduct on the part of the people of Tumbez. The 
curaca of the place was taken prisoner by some of Pizarro's 
men, and his explanation of the matter was, that the war 



548 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



with the Puna islanders had resulted in this demolition of 
the citj. No certain intelligence was ever obtained of the 
fate of those whites who had been left at Tumbez at the 
time of the former expedition of discovery. 

It now became evident to Pizarro that he should have 
some fixed place of settlement, where his troops might 
encamp and live in safety until a proper opportunity pre- 
sented itself for more active operations. He therefore set 
himself to explore the country to the southward. In con- 
| ducting this examination, he made use of a more concilia- 
| tory policy than heretofore, in his intercourse with the 
natives, and took pains to restrain, for the time, the 
rapacity of his followers. The result was that the Indians 
were in turn friendly and hospitable. A settlement was 
made, and the foundation of a town, called San Miguel, 
| commenced on the river Piura. Numbers of the natives 
I were reduced to vassalage, and distributed among the 
| Spaniards to aid in the labor of improving and extending 
I the village. 

Pizarro had gathered information, by means of the in- 
l terpreters in his company — the natives formerly taken by 
| him to Spain— of the political state of the country, and of 
the present location of Atahuallpa, at or near Caxamalca. 
j He had secured a considerable amount of gold, which was 
| sent ba^k to Panama, by consent of the company, and 
| applied, after deducting the perquisites of the crown, to 
defray the expense of fitting out the expedition. 

The whole summer was spent in these operations, and 
it was not until the 24th of September, 1532, that the 
commander was prepared to lead his small army into the 
interior. His whole force was less than two hundred men, 
from whom it was necessary to deduct a portion for the 
purpose of garrisoning San Miguel. On the march towards 
the enormous range of mountains which they were to 
cross, the Spaniards refrained from rapine and plunder. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



549 



They were therefore received with kindly curiosity by the 
inhabitants, and in their progress availed themselves with- 
out molestation of the public fortresses and sheltered 
stopping-places prepared upon the high roads for the use 
of the royal armies. They were delighted with the rich 
and highly-cultivated appearance of many of the beautiful 
vallies passed upon the route. 

The company consisted of one hundred and seventy- 
seven men, of whom sixty-seven were mounted. From 
this number, nine malcontents were suffered by the pru- 
dent leader to return to San Miguel, upon pretence that 
the garrison left there was too weak, but in reality to pre- 
vent the spread of discontent among the troops. 

In a hopeful spirit, and with strengthened confidence in 
their commander, the little cavalcade pressed on to Zaran, 
a fertile settlement amid the mountains. A few leagues 
south of this place, at Caxas, a garrison of the Inca's troops 
was said to be stationed, and thither Pizarro sent an em- 
bassy, under the direction of De Soto, to open a commu- 
nication with the prince. The messengers were absent no 
less than a week; but they finally returned in safety, 
accompanied by one of the officers of the Inca, bearing 
rich presents and messages of welcome and invitation 
from the monarch in person. Pizarro received this noble 
with the respect due to his rank and position, bestowing 
upon him such gifts as would be most attractive in the 
eyes of a person ignorant of European arts. At his de- 
parture, the envoy was charged to tell his sovereign that 
the band of whites was subject to a great emperor of a 
distant country ; that they had heard of the Inca's great- | 
ness and conquests, and had come to proffer their aid in | 
his wars. | 

Continuing their march, the Spaniards reached the foot 
of the Andes. Nothing but the fiercest courage and the | 
most undaunted resolution, both excited to the utmost by 



550 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



the hope of boundless riches and rewards, could have 
stimulated such a handful of adventurers to undertake 
the ascent of this enormous range of mountains, where 
nothing could save them from utter destruction, should 
the forbearance of the natives cease. The main mountain 
road, stretching off to the southward towards the ancient 
Peruvian capital, tempted them to take their course in that 
direction, while across the mountains a narrow and diffi- 
cult pass led towards the encampment of the Inca. It was 
determined to push on in the originally proposed direc- 
tion. The vast and. rugged elevations, rising one beyond 
another, must have appeared to the unpractised eye totally 
insurmountable. 

" * * * Those everlasting clouds, 
Seedtime and harvest, morning, noon, and night, 
Still where they were, steadfast, immovable — 
So massive, yet so shadowy, so ethereal, 
As to belong rather to Heaven than Earth— 
* * They seemed the barriers of a World, 
Saying, Thus far, no farther!" 

The accounts of modern travellers have familiarized us 
with the details of the dangers attendant upon a passage 
of the Andes. What then must have been the attempt 
by these pioneers, totally ignorant of the route, and mo- 
mentarily expecting an attack from the natives in passes 
where an army could be effectually checked by a handful 
of resolute men. Their fears of Indian treachery proved, 
however, groundless; they reached the summit in safety, 
and, while encamped about the fires rendered necessary 
by the sharp air of those elevated regions, messengers 
again appeared, sent by Atahuallpa to meet them. A 
present of llamas proved most acceptable to the wearied 
and suffering troops, and, from all that could be gathered 
by communion with the ambassadors, it did not appear 
probable that they would be molested upon their route. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN'S. 



55 i 



Little doubt was entertained by Pizarro that the Inca 
fully intended to entrap and seize him as soon as he should 
be completely in his power, and surrounded by an irre- 
sistible force of his subjects. It was ascertained that 
Atahuallpa was encamped with a large army only three 
miles from Caxamalca, and that the city was abandoned 
by its inhabitants. This had a threatening appearance, 
but the Inca continued to send friendly messages, and as 
it was too late to think of retreat, even had their hearts 
now failed them, the Spaniards descended the eastern slope 
of the Andes, and entered the valley of Caxamalca. Every 
thing now seen gave tokens of prosperity, industry, and 
skill. " Below the adventurers," says Prescott, "with its 
white houses glittering in the sun, lay the little city of 
Caxamalca, like a sparkling gem on the dark skirts of the 
sierra." Farther on, the immense encampment of the Inca 
was seen in the distance, spotting the rising ground with 
countless tents. Marching through the valley, the troops 
entered the vacant city upon the 15th of November (1532). 



CHAPTER IV. 

FIRST INTERVIEW WITH THE INCA FLANS FOR HIS CAPTURE ENTRY 

OF ATAHUALLPA INTO CAXAMALCA ADDRESS OF THE CHAPLAIN 

ATTACK BY THE SPANIARDS *. FEARFUL MASSACRE OF THE NA- 
TIVES, AND SEIZURE OF THE INCA PRISONERS AND PLUNDER 

OBTAINED THE PROMISED RANSOM HERNANDO PIZARRo's 

VISIT TO PACHACAMACA CHALLCUCHIMA MESSENGERS 

SENT TO CUZCO IMMENSE TREASURE COLLECTED AT 

CAXAMALCA TRIAL AND MURDER OF ATAHUALLPA. 

A small party of horse, led by Hernando Pizarro and 
by the brave and chivalrous De Soto, was at once dis- 
patched to report to the Inca the arrival of the Spaniards. 



552 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBICA. 



Dashing boldly up, upon their spirited horses, the Span- 
iards entered the space occupied by the Peruvian camp, 
and soon stood in the royal presence. Atahuallpa, distin- 
guished by the "borla," or crimson fringe bound around 
the forehead, an ornament peculiar to the Incas, sat ex- 
pecting their arrival, surrounded by his officers of state. 
He did not so far unbend his dignity as to pay the least 
attention to the novel appearance of the steel-clad caval- 
cade, but kept his eyes immovably fixed upon the ground. 
Without dismounting, Hernando saluted the monarch, 
and, through Felipillo's interpretation, made known his 
general's avowed purposes, and earnestly requested the 
king to visit the Spanish camp in person. One of the 
attendants, speaking in behalf of his master, briefly replied 
"It is well." 

Hernando still persisted in requesting the monarch to 
make known his pleasure, and to speak to them person- 
ally; whereupon Atahuallpa, turning his head, and look- 
ing upon him with a smile, announced that he was then in 
the observance of a fast, but would visit the Spanish j 
quarters on the ensuing day. He further directed that I 
the troops should confine themselves to the buildings situ- 
ated upon the plaza or public square. 

De Soto is said to have been mounted upon a noble 
charger, and, to excite the admiration of the Inca, he put 
his horse to his full speed, and wheeling suddenly, drew 
him short up immediately in front of the monarch. Ata- 
huallpa's nerves were proof against this display, and he 
gave no signs whatever of any emotion. It was after- | 
wards reported that he caused several of his attendants to 
be put to death for exhibiting alarm, upon this occasion, j 
at the fury and spirit of the war-horse. 

Some of the women of the royal household now offered ! 
the Spaniards the fermented drink of the country, "chi- ! 
cha," in golden goblets. This they drank in their saddles, ! 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



553 



and then spurred back to the encampment at Caxamalca. 
Their report of the power of the Peruvian force tended 
greatly to discourage the little band of adventurers, but 
only served to nerve their bold and unscrupulous leader 
to a more determined purpose. Kecollecting the success 
of Cortez in securing the person of Montezuma, and 
through him, for the time, controlling the officers of the 
capital, Pizarro determined upon the same policy. He 
made known his resolution to his officers, and then pro- 
ceeded to distribute sentinels at points where they could 
command a view of the approaches to the city, and of the 
Peruvian camp. 

At day -break on the following morning, Pizarro com- 
menced his arrangements for the surprise and capture of 
the Inca. The great square (more properly, in this in- 
stance, a triangle) was surrounded with low buildings, 
with large entrances on the same level with the inclosed 
space. They were built partly of stone, but mostly of 
unburnt brick or clay. The Spanish cavalry, in two sep- 
arate bodies, respectively under command of Hernando 
Pizarro and De Soto, was concealed in large halls, from 
which a sally could be made at a moment's warning. The 
foot-soldiers were stationed in another quarter, where they 
could most promptly second the efforts of the horse; and 
two small falconets, constituting the only artillery, were 
placed under charge of an officer called Pedro de Candia, 
from the place of his birth. 

The Peruvian monarch, on his part, made preparations 
to appear in the utmost state, and to impress the eyes of 
the strangers with his power and magnificence. So much 
time was occupied in the movements of the immense army, 
that it was after noon before the Inca arrived at the city. 
He was about to pitch his camp without the walls, and 
postpone his visit till the following morning, had not 
Pizarro sent a message, earnestly requesting him not to 



1 



554: INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

delay his coming, as all was ready for his entertainment. 
Entirely unsuspicious of the perfidious intention of the 
Spaniards, Atahuallpa complied with the request. It was 
nearly sunset when he entered the town, accompanied by 
thousands upon thousands of obsequious but unarmed 
attendants. He was borne by numbers of his people upon 
a high palanquin, on a seat of massive gold, hung about 
and adorned with the most brilliant feathered work. His 
dress was equally magnificent, and sparkled with the 
rarest gems. 

Arriving at the middle of the great square, with his 
people, to the number, as was computed, of from five 
to six thousand, ranged in respectful silence around him, 
Atahuallpa was surprised to see nothing of the Euro- 
peans. Presently, however, the chaplain, Vicente de Val- 
verde, made his appearance, and, addressing the Inca, 
commenced a long-winded oration upon the religion of 
the Spaniards, the authority of their monarch and of the 
Pope, and the purposes of the expedition ; and concluded 
by exhorting him to discard his idolatrous worship, to 
receive that now proffered, and to acknowledge himself 
the subject of the emperor! Old Purchas gives the fol- 
lowing outline of the ecclesiastic's oration: " Excellent 
Lord, it behoveth you to know, That GrOD in Trinitie and 
Ynitie made the world of nothing, and formed a man of 
the Earth whom he called Adam, of whom we all haue 
beginning. Adam sinned against his Creator by disobe- 
dience, and in him all his posteritie, except IESYS 
CHRIST : who, being God came down from Heaven and 
tooke flesh of the Yirgine Marie ; and to redeeme Man- 
kinde, died on a Crosse like to this (for which cause we 
worship it ;) rose again the third day, and after fortie dayes, 
ascended into Heauen, leaning for his Yicar in Earth Saint 
Peter, and his Successours, which we call Popes; who haue 
giuen to the most Puissant King of Spaine, Emperour of 



SOUTH AMEKICAN INDIANS. 555 

the Eomanes the Monarchy of the World. Obey the Pope, 
and receiue the faith of Chkist ; and if y ee shall beleeue 
it most holy, and that most false which yee hane, yee shall 
doe well; and knowe that, doing the contrarie, wee will 
make warre on you, and will take away and breake your 
Idols ; therefore leaue the deceinable religion of your false 
Gods." All this, (to him) tedious and incomprehensible 
jargon was interpreted to the Inca — according to report, 
with some rather ludicrous errors, in the explanation of 
the religious dogmas. He listened in silence until he heard 
the arrogant and insolent conclusion, when not even the 
apathy or self-control of the Indian was sufficient to enable 
him to conceal his indignation. He replied in language 
befitting a king, that no man could claim superiority over 
him, and that he would never abjure the religion of his 
country. "For the Emperor," he said, according to Pur- 
chas, "hee could be pleased to be the friend of so great a 
Prince, and to know him : but for the Pope, he would not 
obey him, which gaue away that which was not his owne, 
and tooke a Kingdome from him whom hee had neuer 
seene : as for Eeligion, hee liked well his owne, and neither 
would nor ought to call it in question, being so ancient 
and approued, especially seeing Chkist dyed, which neuer 
befell the Sunne or Moone." Then taking from the Priest's 
hand the Bible or breviary which he held forth as the 
authority for his unheard-of assumption, the Inca threw it 
upon the ground, angrily announcing his determination 
of calling the Spaniards to a speedy account for their 
presumption, and for the wrongs already inflicted upon 
his nation. 

The friar sought out Pizarro, and urged him to make 
an immediate attack, offering him absolution for any sin 
he might commit in so doing. The fierce Spaniard and 
his impatient troops were but too ready to accept this 
advice. All day had they kept their stations in a condi- 



556 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA* 



tion of the most trying suspense, ready every moment 
to be called to action. The appointed signal was instantly 
given, and in the midst of a discharge from the falconets 
and musket*, the whole force rushed furiously upon the 
unarmed crowd of natives. Never, in the history of the 
world, was a more bloody and remorseless massacre com- 
mitted. In the short space intervening between sunset 
and darkness, several thousand of the miserable wretches 
were slain unresistingly. In vain did the nobles throng 
round their monarch, with noble self-devotion throwing 
away their lives for their master, and opposing their bodies 
to shield him from the weapons whose force they had no 
means to avert. The unhappy prince was taken prisoner, 
and securely confined in an adjoining building. The 
Spaniards were greatly struck with the appearance and 
noble demeanor of their royal captive. He is represented 
as not far from thirty years of age, of a well-built and 
commanding figure, with regular features and a singular 
majesty of expression — "his countenance might have been 
called handsome, but that his eyes, which were blood-shot, 
gave a fierce expression to his features." 

The only Spaniard wounded during this bloody and 
horrible transaction was Pizarro himself, who received 
a wound in the hand from one of his own men, while 
| endeavoring to ward off a blow aimed at the person of 
j the Inca. 

Next day the Indian prisoners were set at work to bury 
the heaps of their slaughtered companions, and detach- 
ments of troops were sent over to Atahuallpa's former 
place of encampment. These returned in a few hours, 
driving in great numbers of prisoners of both sexes, many 
of the women being those belonging to the Inca's house- 
| hold. The Spaniards reserved as many slaves as their 
need or pride required; the rest of the prisoners were set 
free, contrary to the advice of some in the army, who I 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 557 

were strenuous that they should be maimed or massacred. 
The victors were now at liberty to plunder at will, and 
their extravagance and waste had full scope. The vast 
flocks of llamas, so long the pride and support of the 
country, and over which such a systematic and watchful 
care had been exercised for ages, were slaughtered with- 

j out stint, or left to roam neglected among the mountains. 
The stores of beautiful fabrics of wool and cotton, with 
which the city was stored, were open to the depredation 
of all; and no small amount of plunder, in gold, silver, 
and emeralds, was secured at the Peruvian camp, or taken 
from the bodies of the slain, and laid by for future division. 

The Inca was, meanwhile, treated with a certain respect, 
but his person was most carefully guarded. He was al- 
lowed the services of his attendants, who, throughout his 
captivity, showed no diminution of obsequiousness and 
respect, but bowed as humbly before their revered mon- 
arch in his fallen fortunes, as when he sat upon his throne 

I of state, the arbiter of life and death to all around him. 
Atahuallpa could not fail to perceive what was the mas- 

! ter motive to all acts of his captors. Appealing to this, 
he promised Pizarro that, if he would engage to set him 
at liberty, the floor of the room where they then stood, 

| should be covered with gold for his ransom. The size of 
the apartment is variously stated, but it was at least sev- 
enteen feet broad, and twenty or thirty in length. As the 
Spaniards appeared to look upon this promise as an idle 

■ boast, the Inca raised his hand against the wall, and added 
that "he would not merely cover the floor, but would fill 
the room with gold as high as he could reach." 

Pizarro accepted the offer, and a line was drawn around 
the room at the agreed height. The gold, whether in the 
form of bars and plates, or of vases and statuary, was to 
be piled without being broken up or reduced in bulk. 
Besides this undertaking, which was to be accomplished 



558 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



within two months, a smaller room was to be rilled "twice 
full of silver, in like manner." Messengers were immedi- 
ately commissioned to order gold from every quarter of 
the kingdom, to be brought as speedily as possible for the 
ransom of the monarch. 

Huascar, hearing, in his place of confinement, of the 
reverse which had befallen his brother, at once opened a 
communication with Pizarro, and made offers still more 
magnificent than those of Atahuallpa, if the Spaniards 
would espouse his cause. Pizarro expressed his determin- 
ation to hear the claims of both parties, and to decide, 
from the evidence that should be adduced, as to their 
respective rights. Huascar was, very shortly after this, 
put to death by his keepers, as was generally believed, in 
accordance with secret instructions from Atahuallpa. 

The royal mandate, commanding the desecration of the 
magnificent temples and palaces, by stripping them of their 
wealth of precious metals, was obeyed as speedily as prac- 
ticable. Gold came in to Caxamalca in large quantities, 
but the difficulty of conveyance caused no little delay. 
While waiting the completion of his captive's undertaking, 
Pizarro sent emissaries to Cuzco to examine the condi- 
tion and wealth of the country, and dispatched his brother 
Hernando, with a small party of horsemen, to visit the 
city of Pachacamac, three hundred miles distant, upon 
the sea-coast. Hernando returned to Caxamalca with glow- 
ing reports of the beauty and fertility of the country 
through which he had passed on this expedition. He had 
visited the city for which he had directed his course, and 
had destroyed the great idol upon the temple, the former 
object of worship to the inhabitants, and which had been 
allowed to maintain its place by the Peruvian conquerors, 
and to receive joint homage with the sun. In crossing the 
rocky and rugged mountains, the shoes of the horses gave 
out, and, as no iron was to be procured, it was necessary 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS, 



559 



to replace them with silver! or, as some say, with, a mix- 
ture of silver and copper. 

Hernando brought back with him Challcuchima, a vet- 
eran officer of the Inca's, and the most esteemed and trust- 
worthy of his generals. He voluntarily accompanied the 
Spanish cavalcade, having been told by its leader that his 
monarch desired to see him. When the old soldier came 
into his master's presence, (barefoot, and carrying, accord- 
ing to custom, a small burden, in token of inferiority,) he 
lamented audibly that he had been absent at the time of 
his capture ; and, weeping bitterly, kissed the hands and 
feet of the fallen prince. Atahuallpa preserved the calm, 
unbending dignity which he ever assumed in communica- 
tions with his subjects. 

The messengers sent to Cuzco demeaned themselves 
with the utmost pride and insolence. The whole of the 
long journey was accomplished in litters or sedan-chairs, 
borne by the natives. At the royal city these emissaries 
superintended the stripping of the great temple of its 
golden plates and ornaments, of which a vast weight was 
prepared for transportation to Caxamalca. 

At the latter place of encampment, the Spanish army 
was very considerably reinforced in the succeeding month 
of February, (1533,) by the arrival of Pizarro's old com- 
rade Almagro. He brought with him, from the Spanish 
settlements on the Isthmus, two hundred well-armed sol- 
diers, fifty of whom were cavalry. Thus recruited, Pi- 
zarro was eager to extend his conquests and acquisitions. 
The promises of the Inca were not, as yet, wholly fulfilled, 
although such piles of treasure were accumulated as might 
well astonish and satisfy even the eyes of the rapacious 
Spaniards. The beauty and finish of many of the mas- 
sive vases and figures were long after admired by the 
artists of Europe. Among the representations of natural 
objects wrought in the precious metals, was the ear of 

, . 



560 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



maize. Of this, the leaves and tassel were perfectly imi- 
tated in silver work, the yellow kernel within glistening 
with the purest gold. 

It was determined to acquit the Inca of any further ful- 
j filment of his promise, but to retain him a prisoner, and 
! at once to break up and divide the treasure. Some of the 
more beautiful specimens of art were reserved to be sent to 
| Spain; the rest was melted into ingots by the native arti- 
I sans. " The total amount of the gold," as stated and com- 
puted by Mr. Prescott, "was found to be one million, three 
| hundred and twenty-six thousand, five hundred and thirty- 
| nine pesos de oro, which, allowing for the greater value of 
| money in the sixteenth century, would be equivalent, 
S probably, at the present time, to near three millions and a 
| ha ¥ of pounds sterling, or somewhat less than fifteen millions 
I and a half of dollars. The quantity of silver was esti- 
| mated at fifty-one thousand six hundred and ten marks." 
j The gold, as above estimated, is, indeed, more than thrice 
the sum that the same weight of the precious metal would 
j be worth at the present day. The peso de oro is said to 
have been, specifically, about equal to three dollars and 
! seven cents. 

Of all this booty, the crown had its fifth, and the rest 
was distributed in various proportions among the numer- 
ous claimants. But a small allowance was made to the 
new recruits, and still less to the settlers at San Miguel. 
Certain sums were devoted to the establishment of the 
Catholic religion in the new country. 

Having now obtained all that was to be expected 
through the Inca's intervention, at least without such de- 
lays as their impatient spirits could not brook, the unprin- 
cipled horde of freebooters whose proceedings we are now 
recording, determined to rid themselves of a captive who 
had become an incumbrance. 
The ridiculous farce of a trial was gone through, at 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN'S. 



561 



which such accusations as the following were made, and 
pretended to be sustained: He had been guilty of polyga- 
my; of "squandering the public's revenues since the 
conquest;" of idolatry [!]; of the murder of his brother 
Huascar ; and of striving to excite a rebellion against the 
Spanish authorities! This last charge, the only one 
brought before the self-constituted court which is worthy 
of comment, was utterly unsustained. The country was 
perfectly quiet, and even the ingenuity of the prejudiced 
judges failed to connect the royal captive with any attempt 
at insurrection. It is said that the malice of the interpre- 
ter Felipillo induced him to distort the testimony adduced. 
This fellow had been engaged, as is said, in an intrigue 
with one of the Inca's women. The usefulness of the 
interpreter protected him from punishment, but the ex- 
pressed indignation of the prince, excited the permanent 
rancour and ill-will of his inferior. 

The unhappy Atahuallpa was sentenced to be burned 
alive in the public square that very night. When his j 
doom was made known to him, he at first resorted to 
every entreaty and expostulation to move his murderers 
from their diabolical purpose. With tears he reminded 
Pizarro of the treasures he had lavished on the Spaniards, 
and the good faith which he had always shown, and promised 
a ransom far greater than that before brought in, if he could 
but have time to procure it, and if his life were spared. 
Seeing that entreaties and supplications availed nothing, 
I the dignity and firm spirit of endurance of the monarch 
returned, and he calmly awaited his terrible fate. By the 
light of torches he was brought out and chained to the 
stake, and, at the last moment, submitted to the disgrace- 
ful-mockery of an administration of the sacraments, and 
a formal profession of Christianity, that a speedier form of 
death might be awarded him. He perished by the infa- 
mous garotte. 
36 



562 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Hernando de Soto, a man who, with the faults of his age 
and nation, was vastly superior to the merciless villains 
with whom he was associated, was absent at the time of 
this transaction, and on his return condemned the pro- 
ceeding in strong terms. A small proportion of the compa- 
ny thought the same with De Soto, concerning the murder, 
but by far the greater number were but too glad to be rid 
of a troublesome captive, to trouble themselves about the 
means of accomplishing their purpose. Those chiefly con- 
cerned, felt sufficiently the disgrace attendant upon their 
acts, to endeavor to shift the responsibility upon each other. 

In "Purchas, his Pilgrimage," is the following summary 
of the end of the principal agents in the murder of Ata- 
huallpa: "Howbeit they killed him notwithstanding, and 
in a night strangled him. But God, the righteous Judge, 
seeing this villainous act, suffered none of those Spaniards 
to die by the course of Nature, but brought them to euill 
and shamefull ends. * * Almagro was executed by Picar- 
ro, and he slaine by yong Almagro ; and him Yacca de 
Castra did likewise put to death. John Picarro was slaine 
of the Indians. Martin, an other of the Brethren, was 
slaine with Francis. Ferdinandus was imprisoned in 
Spaine & his end vnknowne ; Gonzalez was done to death 
by Gasca. Soto died of thought in Florida; and ciuill 
warres eate vp the rest in Peru." 

A condition of anarchy and intestine disturbance suc- 
ceeded the death of the Inca, and the rude shock given 
by the Spanish invasion to the old system of arbitrary, 
but fixed and unchangeable laws. Seeing the value at- 
tached to the precious metals, the natives in many instances 
followed the example of the conquerors in plundering and 
destroying the public edifices of their own country. The 
quantity of gold and silver conveyed away and concealed 
for ever from the covetous eyes of the Europeans was said 
to have infinitely surpassed that which they had secured. 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



563 



CHAPTER V. 

MARCH TOWARDS CTJZCO — OPPOSITION OF THE NATIVES — DEATH OF 

TOPARCA, AND MURDER OF CHALLCUCHIMA MANCO CAPAC ENTRY 

INTO THE CAPITAL BOOTY OBTAINED ESCAPE OF MANCO, AND 

GENERAL INSURRECTION SIEGE OF CUZCO REVERSES OF THE 

SPANIARDS CIVIL WARS FURTHER HOSTILITIES OF MANCO 

CAPAC CRUEL TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES DEATH OF 

MANCO CAPAC REFORMS UNDER PEDRO DE LA GAS- 

CA TUPAC AMARU INSURRECTION OF 1781 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PERUVIAN INDIANS. 

Pizarro now declared the sovereignty of Peru to be 
vested in a brother of Atahuallpa named Toparco, and the 
ceremony of coronation was duly performed. Further 
stay at Caxamalca was deemed unadvisable, and, with the 
new Inca in company, the Spanish army pushed on towards 
the ancient capital of Peru, over the magnificent road of 
the Incas. The ascent of the mountain ridges was, indeed, 
arduous and perilous, as the road was intended only for 
foot passengers and the agile Peruvian sheep or " camel," 
as the animal was designated by early writers. As in 
former progresses, the granaries and halting-places pre- 
pared for the royal armies supplied abundant food and 
shelter. 

The first attempt upon the part of the natives to arrest 
the progress of the cavalcade, was at Xauxa, where they 
collected to oppose the passage of a considerable stream. 
Eesistance proved unavailing : the cavalry dashed through 
the river, and dispersed the crowd. Pizarro encamped at 
Xauxa, and commissioned De Soto, with sixty mounted 
men, to go forward, and see that all was safe for a further 
advance. As that cavalier approached Cuzco, after cross- 
ing the Apurimac, a tributary of the Amazon, his com- 
mand was beset by a hostile force of Indians among the 



564 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



dangerous passes of the mountain which he must cross to 
reach the capital. By superhuman efforts, the little party 
managed to force a way against the enemy until an ele- 
vated plateau was gained, where there was room for the 
movements of the horses. The natives, becoming more 
familiar with the arms and mode of fighting adopted by 
the Spaniards, fought with their natural courage and reso- 
lution, but could accomplish little after the cavalry had 
attained an advantageous position. 

During the night, De Soto and his men were gladdened 
by the arrival of Almagro upon the field, with most of the 
cavalry left at Xauxa. Pizarro had received advices of 
the danger to which his advance was exposed, and 
promptly forwarded assistance. The whole Spanish force 
finally assembled at Xaquixaguana, but a few miles from 
Cuzco. In this delightful valley, a favorite resort of 
the Inca nobility, whose country-seats were every where 
| scattered over its surface, the army encamped for rest and 
| refreshment. At this place various charges were brought 
| up against the noble old warrior, Challcuchima. The 
new Inca, Toparca, had died during the halt at Xauxa, 
and it was thought convenient to attribute his death, as 
well as the recent hostile movements, to the machinations 
of this dangerous prisoner. He was tried, condemned, 
and burned alive— the usual method of execution adopted 
by the Spaniards in the case of an Indian victim. It is to 
be trusted that another generation will look upon the bar- 
barities still persisted in among the most enlightened 
nations of the present age, with the same sensations that 
are now aroused by the remembrance of the cruelties so 
universal in former times. 

A new claimant to the throne of the Incas had now 
arisen in the person of Manco Capac, a brother of the ill- 
fated Huascar. The young prince, splendidly attended, 
came boldly to the Spanish camp, explained the grounds 



SOUTH AMERICAS' INDIANS. 



565 



of his claim, and requested the aid of Pizarro in establish- 
ing his rights. The general received him kindly, and 
seemed to accede to the proposal. In company with this 
new ally, after one more unimportant skirmish, the Span- 
iards entered Cuzco, on or about the 15th of November, 
1533. They were delighted with the extent and magnifi- 
cence of the city, and the liveliness and gayety of its 
inhabitants. 

Temples, public edifices, royal palaces, and places of 
sepulture, were every where ransacked in search of gold, 
but orders had been given by Pizarro that private property 
should be respected. The rapacious plunderers were dis- 
satisfied with the amount of treasure discovered, although 
no conquest in the history of the world was ever rewarded 
by such acquisitions of the precious metals, and proceeded 
to subject some of the natives to the torture, to compel a 
disclosure of their secret places of deposit. 

"In a cavern near the city," says Prescott, "they found 
a number of vases of pure gold, richly embossed with the 
figures of serpents, locusts, and other animals. Among 
the spoil were four golden llamas, and ten or twelve 
statues of women, some of gold, others of silver, 'which 
merely to see,' says one of the conquerors, with some 
naivete, 1 was truly a great satisfaction.' " Upon the march, 
no small amount of booty had been secured: "In one 
place, for example, they met with ten planks or bars of 
solid silver, each piece being twenty feet in length, one 
foot in breadth, and two or three inches thick." 

Manco Capac was solemnly crowned at Cuzco, by 
Pizarro, who, with his own hand, presented the imperial 
badge, the ' ' borla " or red scarf for the forehead. The con- 
queror arranged a system of government for the city, giving 
his brothers Gonzalo and Juan the principal authority. 
The natives seemed to acquiesce readily in the new regu- 
lations, and joined hilariously in the festivities of the time. 



566 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Pizarro now bethought himself of establishing a capital 
for the new country in a more convenient location than 
either Cuzco or Quito, and in January, 1535, the founda- 
tions of the city of Lima were laid. Hernando Pizarro 
had been previously sent to Spain, with substantial speci- 
mens of the newly-acquired treasures. His appearance at 
court, and his details of strange adventure, excited an un- 
precedented enthusiasm and astonishment. Large addi- 
tional emoluments and authorities were conferred upon 
the principal actors in the conquest ; and Hernando returned 
to America, accompanied by numerous adventurers eager 
for fame and fortune in the new world. Almagro received, 
by royal grant, authority to conquer and possess an im- 
mense district, southward of Peru; and thither he took up 
his march, after along series of bickerings and quarrels with 
Juan and Gronzalo, respecting conflicting claims at Cuzco. 

The conquerors of the empire of the Incas became care- 
less and secure: they little dreamed that there yet existed 
a warlike and determined spirit among the down-trodden 
natives, fated soon to raise a storm on every side, which 
not even Spanish valor and dogged determination could 
readily allay. 

The young Inca, Manco Capac, indignant at the conduct 
of the rulers at Cuzco, and disgusted with the shadow of 
authority which he was himself allowed to exercise, made 
his escape from the surveillance of the Pizarros, and, rous- 
ing the whole country to arms, intrenched himself beyond 
the Yucay, Juan Pizarro in vain undertook his recapture. 
With a small body of cavalry, he did, indeed, gain a tem- 
porary advantage, but the effect of superstitious fears no 
longer operated to dismay the Indian warriors, and it was 
only by virtue of hard knocks, and by actual superiority 
in skill, weapons, and endurance, that they could be con- 
quered. The numbers of the enemy were so great, and so 
fast increasing, that Juan was obliged, in a few days, to 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN'S. 567 

return to Cuzco, which, as he was informed by a mes- 
senger, was now besieged by the Indians in still more 
overwhelming force. 

In the elegant language of Mr. Prescott : " The extensive 
environs, as far as the eye could reach, were occupied by 
a mighty host, which an indefinite computation swelled to 
the number of two hundred thousand warriors. The 
dusky lines of the Indian battalions stretched out to the 
very verge of the mountains ; while, all around, the eye 
saw only the crests and waving banners of chieftains, 
mingled with rich panoplies of feather-work, which re- 
minded some few who had served under Cortes of the 
military costume of the Aztecs. Above all rose a forest 
of long lances and battle-axes edged with copper, which, 
tossed to and fro in wild confusion, glistened in the rays 
of the setting sun, like light playing on the surface of a 
dark and troubled ocean. It was the first time that the 
Spaniards had beheld an Indian army in all its terrors ; 
such an army as the Incas led to battle, when the banner 
of the Sun was borne triumphant over the land." 

It is almost inconceivable that such a handful of men 
as were gathered within the city -walls, should have been 
able to repel the force now gathered about them, and to 
maintain their position until the enemy, wearied with 
hopeless encounters, and suffering from want of provision, 
should be obliged to draw off. 

The buildings of Cuzco were nearly all covered with a 
neatly arranged thatch, and this the assailants easily ig- 
nited by means of burning arrows. The whole city was 
wrapt in flames, and the Spaniards, encamped in the great 
plaza, nearly perished from the heat and smoke. When 
the flames subsided, after several clays of terrible confla- 
gration, one half of the proud capital was a heap of ruins. 

Fierce battles and desperate hand-to-hand encounters 
succeeded: the Spaniards, with their accustomed bravery, 



568 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



again and again charged the enemy in the field, but their 
numbers were so great, that success in these skirmishes 
was eventually useless. The sallies from the city were 
met and resisted with the most determined valor. As at 
the siege of Mexico, the Indians seemed to be careless of 
their own loss, so long as they could lessen the numbers 
of the whites, in however inferior degrees. They no longer 
fled in terror at the approach of the horse. They had even 
availed themselves of such of these useful animals as fell 
into their hands. Several of them were seen mounted, 
and the Xnca himself, "accoutred in the European fashion, 
rode a war-horse which he managed with considerable 
address, and, with a long lance in his hand, led on his fol- 
lowers to the attack." There are bounds to the physical 
endurance of man and beast, and the Spaniards were 
obliged to submit to the siege, and to wait until assistance 
should arrive from without, or until the enemy should be 
weary of keeping watch upon them. The greatest annoy- 
ance was m the possession, by the Indians, of the great 
fortress, from the high towers of which their missiles were 
hurled with deadly effect upon all within reach. 

It was determined to storm this intrenchment, and the 
service was most gallantly performed. Juan Pizarro a 
cavalier spoken of as superior to either of his brothers' in 
humanity, lost his life in its accomplishment. The Peru- 
vian commander, after defending his post in person, with the 
most desperate valor, scorning to be taken prisoner, threw 
himself headlong from the highest tower, and perished. 

The siege, which had commenced in the spring, contin- 
ued until August, when, after months of anxiety and 
suffering, the little band of Spaniards were rejoiced to see 
the Inca's forces taking their departure. They had been 
dismissed by their leader to go home and attend to the 
necessary duties of husbandry. Manco intrenched him- 
self at Tambo, south of the Yucay. 



SOUTH AMEKICAN INDIANS. 



569 



The rising among the Peruvians was very extensive and 
well concerted. Great numbers of detached plantations 
and settlements were destroyed, and their Spanish occu- 
pants slain. Pizarro made several ineffectual attempts to 
send relief to the garrison at Cuzco, which only resulted 
in heavy loss to his own people. A general feeling of 
gloom, apprehension, and discontent prevailed, and not a 
few of the settlers, at Lima and elsewhere, were anxious 
to abandon the country. 

Upon the return of Almagro from his disastrous expe- 
dition to Chili, and his seizure of Cuzco, he succeeded in 
driving the Inca from Tambo into the mountains, where he 
sought out a solitary place of concealment until opportunity 
should offer for again arousing his people to resistance. 

In the desolating civil wars which ensued among the 
rival Spanish claimants of the country, the rights and 
prosperity of the native inhabitants were utterly disre- 
garded. They were unscrupulously enslaved and mal- 
treated * wherever the power of the Spaniards extended. 
In the distracted state of the country, the young Inca 
again renewed his efforts at resistance to his subjects' op- 
pressors. Sallying from time to time from an encampment 
among the mountains, between Cuzco and the sea-coast, he 
did no little injury to the Spanish settlements, and rendered 
travelling unsafe, except in large and well-armed com- 
panies. Although frequently defeated by Pizarro's troops, 
he would only retire to meditate fresh attacks, and the 
Spanish commander finally thought it advisable to open a 
negotiation with him. A meeting was accordingly ap- 
pointed in the valley of the Yucay, but the attempts at 
pacification were rendered abortive by mutual outrages. 
A negro messenger, sent by Pizarro to the Inca with a 
propitiatory offering, was robbed and murdered by some 
of the natives. The Spanish commander chose to attribute 
the act to Manco's orders, and proceeded to retaliate by 



570 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



the dastardly and cruel murder of a young and beautiful 
wife of the Inca, who was a prisoner in his power. She 
was stripped naked, beaten, and afterwards shot with 
arrows. This cruelty was endured, on the part of the 
victim, with true Indian fortitude. What a strange con- 
tradiction it appears, that a man like this, with his dying 
lips (he was assassinated in 1541) should have pronounced 
the name of Him whose whole teaching and example 
breathed the spirit of gentleness and mercy, and that his 
last effort should have been to kiss the figure of the cross, 
drawn by his ringer, in his own blood, upon the floor. 

As the Spanish population of the country increased, the 
condition of the Indians became more and more wretched 
and deplorable. The old scenes at the West India Islands 
were reenacted, and the brutal populace seemed to make 
cruelty and wanton outrage a matter of emulation. It 
was not enough to enslave the helpless natives, and to 
compel them upon insufficient nourishment, and scantily 
clothed, to undergo the killing labors of the mines and 
plantations ; but the most capricious outrages were every 
where committed. They were hunted with dogs, for 
the sake of sport; all that they esteemed sacred was 
desecrated; their women were violated in the most 
shameless manner; and cruel tortures and death awaited 
him who should resist the oppressor, or invade his rights 
of property! 

One of the most notorious abuses in the system of 
Spanish government, and which was maintained until after 
the insurrection of 1781, was called the "Kepartimento." 
This was a compulsory distribution of European goods, 
which the natives were compelled to purchase at enormous 
prices. "The law was doubtless intended," it is said by 
Tschudi, "in its origin, for the advantage and convenience 
of the native Indians, by supplying them with necessaries 
at a reasonable price. But subsequently the Eepartimiento 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



571 



became a source of oppression and fraud, in the hands of 
the provincial authorities." 

The system which regulated the services of laborers in 
the mines or on the plantations went by the name of the 
' ' Mita." Those Indians who were placed, by the operation 
of this species of conscription, under the power of the pro- 
prietors of the soil, were in a far more miserable condition 
than slaves in whom the master has a property, and whose 
health and lives he has an interest in preserving. Such a 
miserable pittance as was doled out for their support, and 
so severe and unceasing was the labor required at their 
hands, that an almost incredible number perished. " Some 
writers estimate at nine millions the number of Indians 
sacrificed in the mines in the course of three centuries." 

When, by the intervention of Las Casas, the wrongs of 
the Indians received attention from the Spanish court, and 
extensive provisions were made for their freedom and 
protection, all Peru was in a state of tumultuous excite- 
ment. It was the general determination not to submit to 
such an infringement of the luxuries and profits of life in 
the New World, as that of placing the serfs under the care 
of the laws. In the midst of this turmoil, in 1544, the 
brave and patriotic Inca was slain by a party of Span- 
iards, who had fled to his camp during the factious disturb- 
ances by which the European settlements were convulsed. 
They paid the forfeit for this act with their lives. 

The first effectual steps taken in behalf of the wasted 
and oppressed Peruvians, were under the viceroyalty of 
Pedro de la Gasca, between 1547 and 1550. By his ef- 
forts, a careful inquiry was instituted into the condition 
of the slaves ; their arbitrary removal from their native 
districts was prohibited; and, above all, strict regulations 
were made, and— not without strong opposition— enforced, 
by which the kind and amount of their labor was precisely 
laid down. 



572 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA, 



Tupac Amaru, a son of Manco Capac, who had resided 
among the remote mountain districts of the interior since 
his father's death, was taken prisoner and put to death 
during the period that Francisco de Toledo was viceroy 
of Peru. One of his descendants, Jose Gabriel Condor- 
canqui, known as Tupac Amaru the Second, in after-times 
fearfully revenged the injuries of his family and country- 
men. The insurrection which he headed broke out in 
1781. The lapse of two centuries of oppression had thin- 
ned the teeming population of Peru in a ratio scarcely 
precedented, but, on the other hand, European weapons, 
and military skill, both of which they had, to a certain 
extent, adopted, rendered them dangerous enemies, and 
enough of the old patriotic spirit and tradition of former 
glory remained to afford material for a fearful outbreak. 

The long depressed and humiliated natives rallied 
around the descendant of their ancient line of Incas with 
the greatest enthusiasm, and, in their successful attacks 
upon various provinces where Spanish authority had been 
established, proved as merciless as their former oppressors. 
Great numbers of Spaniards perished during this rebellion, 
but it was finally crushed ; and the Inca, with a number, 
of his family, falling into the hands of the Spanish author- 
ities, was barbarously put to death. "They were all 
quartered," says Bonny castle, "in the city of Cuzco, ex- 
cepting Diego, (a brother of Tupac,) who had escaped. 
So great was the veneration of the Peruvians for Tupac 
Amaru, that when he was led to execution, they prostrated 
themselves in the streets, though surrounded by soldiers, 
and uttered piercing cries and exclamations as they beheld 
the last of the Children of the Sun torn to pieces." 

Diego also perished by the hands of the executioner, 
twenty years afterwards, upon the accusation of having 
instigated a revolt which occurred in Quito. It is said 
that the insurrection of the Indians under Tupac Amaru — 



SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 



573 



the last important effort made by them to reestablish their 
ancient independence — cost more than one hundred thou- 
sand lives. 

Since the great revolutions in South America, and the 
establishment of the independence of the Kepublics, the 
Indian population of Peru have made no trifling advance. 
According to the account of Dr. Tschudi, a late traveller 
in the country, they "have made immense progress. Dur- 
ing the civil war, which was kept up uninterruptedly for 
the space of twenty years, they were taught military ma- 
noeuvres and the use of fire-arms. After every lost battle, 
the retreating Indians carried with them, in their flight, 
their muskets, which they still keep carefully concealed. 
They are also acquainted with the manufacture of gun- 
powder, of which, in all their festivals, they use great 
quantities for squibs and rockets." 

The same writer describes the present character of the 
race as gloomy and distrustful. The Christian religion 
has been, at least in name, almost universally diffused, but 
the observance of its rites is mingled with many relics of 
the ancient superstitions of the country, while the bigotry, 
errors, and evil example of too many of those who have 
acted as its ministers could hardly result in the inculcation 
of the true spirit of their faith. During the whole period 
of Spanish authority, from the time of the first landing, 
the Catholic ecclesiastics were unwearied in endeavors to 
promulgate their religion. Their success in effecting at 
least an outward acceptation of its doctrines, has been no 
where more signal than in South America. 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THEIR LOCATION, APPEARANCE, ETC. — PURCHAS' DESCRIPTION OF CHI- 
LI— DIVISION OF THE TRIBES PERUVIAN CONQUESTS AGRICUL- 
TURE, ARTS, ETC., AMONG THE NATIVES ALMAGRO's INVASION 

—EXPEDITION OF PEDRO DE VALDIVIA-— FOUNDING OF ST. 

JAGO BATTLES WITH THE MAPOCHINIANS DESTRUCTION 

OF SPANISH MINERS PEACE WITH THE PROMAUCIANS. 

The different tribes belonging to this bold and warlike 
race inhabit Chili and western Patagonia, commencing 
about latitude thirty degrees, and extending to Terra del 
Fuego. The Pecherais of that island have also been classed 
in the same family, and their general conformation of fig- 
ure and features, except so far as the withering influence 
of cold and squalid destitution have deteriorated the race, 
would seem to warrant the conclusion that the two nations 
were of identical origin. 

The mountaineers of Chili are of a much lighter com- 
plexion than the aboriginal nations either north or south 
of them; the tribe of Boroanos in particular have been 
described as being little, if any, darker than Europeans. 
The men are tall, hardy, and vigorous, with exceedingly 
muscular limbs : their faces are broad, and their features 
rather heavy and coarse, but without the appearance of 
stupidity or dullness : they have the bright eye and coarse 
black hair of the Indian. Some of them are noticed with 
heavy beards, but generally this appendage is thin and 



THE ABAUCANIAN RACE. 



575 



scanty, and the common barbarous custom of eradicating 
it with some substitute for tweezer is resorted to. 

Although a considerable difference is observable between 
the inhabitants of the mountains and the plains, in size, 
complexion, &c, yet the similarity in language and gen- 
eral appearance is considered sufficient to warrant the 
conclusion that all originally sprung from the same stock. 

In "Purchas his Pilgrimage," we find the following 
quaint description of the physical aspect of the country : 

"It is called Chili of the chilling cold, for so the word 
is sayd to signifie. The Hills with their high lookes, cold 
blasts, and couetous encrochings, driue it almost into the 
Sea: only a narrow Yalley vpon lowly submission to her 
swelling adversaries, obtayneth roome for flue and twentie 
leagues of breadth, where it is most, to extend her spa- 
cious length of two hundred leagues on that shore : and 
to withstand the ocean's furie, shee paies a large tribute 
of many streames, which yet in the night time shee can 
hardly performe ; the miserable Hills, in their Frozen chari- 
tie, not imparting that natural! bountie and dutie, till that 
great Arbiter the Sunne ariseth, and sendeth Day with his 
light-horse troupe of Sunne-beames to breake vp those 
Icie Dungeons and Snowie Turrets, wherein Night, the 
Mountaines Gaoler, had locked the innocent Waters. 
Once, the poore Yalley is so hampered betwixt the Tyran- 
nical! Meteors and Elements, as that shee often quaketh 
with feare, and in these chill Feuers shaketh of and looseth 
her best ornaments. 

* * "And sometimes the neighbour hils are infected 
with this pestilent Feuer, and tumble downe as dead in 
the plaine, thereby so amazing the fearefull Eiuers, that 
they runne quite out of their Channells' to seeke new, or 
else stand still with wonder; and the motiue heat failing, 
fall into an vncouth tympanie, their bellies swelling into 
spacious and standing Lakes." 



576 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



When the western coast of South America was first 
visited by Europeans, a portion of Chili was, as before- 
mentioned, subject to the Peruvian monarchy. The Chi- 
lian tribes, according to Molina, were fifteen in number, 
each independent, and governed by its Ulmen, or cacique. 
" these tribes, beginning at the north and proceeding to 
the south, were called Copiapins, Coquimbanes, Quillo- 
tanes, Mapochinians, Promaucians, Cures, Cauques, Pen- 
cones, Araucanians, Cunches, Chilotes, Chinquilanians, 
Pehuenches, Puelches, and Huilliches." The first four of 
these, about the middle of the fifteenth century, were re- 
duced by the- Inca Yupanqui, without much opposition, 
but the Promaucians opposed so vigorous a resistance that 
the progress of the Peruvian arms was effectually stayed. 
The conquered provinces were allowed to retain their na- 
tional government and customs, upon payment of tribute 
to the Inca. 

The Chilians were, at this early period, not only bold 
and skillful in war, but had made much greater advances 
in the arts of civilization than any other South American 
race except the Peruvians. The country was too popu- 
lous to "be sustained by the precarious pursuits of hunting, 
fishing, &c, and a rude but systematic cultivation of the 
soil had become universal. The vegetable productions 
brought under cultivation were mostly the same with those 
used in Peru, and the native sheep or "camel," was domes- 
ticated, as in that country. This animal furnished the 
wool for the garments of those who inhabited the western 
vallies — the wilder races of the east and south were clothed 
in skins, principally of the guanaco, a species of wild goat. 

Their houses were generally square, built of brick, or 
of wood plastered with clay, and thatched with rushes. 
Culinary utensils were formed of stone, wood, or earthen- 
ware. They wrought, with some skill, in the usual metallic 
productions of the country, using, like the Peruvians, a 



THE AKAUCANIAN RACE. 



577 



hardened alloy of copper, with other metals, as a substitute 
for iron. In common with the latter nation, a system of 
recording events or statistics by the "quipu," was all that 
was observable as analogous to the art of writing. 

The Promaucians, whose courage and patriotism had a 
century before checked the advance of the royal forces 
of the Inca, were found no less formidable by the first 
Spanish invaders. Almagro, after his frightful passage 
of the Cordilleras, in which, as is said, he lost one hundred 
and fifty Spaniards, and some ten thousand Indian allies, 
was well received by the tributary provinces of Chili. 
He collected no small booty in gold, which he distributed 
among his followers, and continued his march to Coquimbo. 
Here he was guilty of an act of barbarity too common 
wherever the Spaniards of that time were successful in 
their Indian campaigns. Two of his soldiers had been 
put to death at Guasco, in consequence of some acts of 
rapacity or violence, and in revenge, Almagro seized and 
burned alive the chief of the district, with his brother 
and twenty other of the native inhabitants. 

Marching into the province of the Promaucians, the 
Spaniards found an enemy superior to any before encoun- 
tered. JSTot even the terrors of the cavalry and weapons 
of the Europeans could daunt the brave mountaineers, 
who rallied under the banners of their chiefs for the pro- 
tection of home and country. A single battle was suffi- 
cient to satisfy the invaders that little was to be gained 
by any further advance, and Almagro, with his troops, 
returned to Peru, as heretofore related, to seize upon 
Cuzco as being contained within the grant made to him 
by the crown. 

In 1540, Pedro de Yaldivia, a bold and active Spanish 
soldier, and high in the confidence of Pizarro, was com- 
missioned to lead the second expedition against the pro- 
vinces of Chili. He took with him two hundred Spaniards i 



578 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



and a large body of Peruvians, with the intent of form- 
ing a colony and commencing a permanent settlement. 
Some of the domestic animals of Europe were taken for 
use of the new colony, and a number of women and eccle- 
siastics were added to the company. 

Crossing the mountains during the favorable season of 
summer, Yaldivia entered Chili, but found on his arrival 
that the northern tribes, freed from the yoke of the Incas, 
were disposed to reassert their former independence. The 
want of union, however, prevented them from being able 
to stem the progress of the Spaniards. The invader 
pressed on, crushing all opposition, to Mapocho, the prov- 
ince where he founded the city of St. Jago. 

While the new capital was in progress of construction, 
the natives of the district fell boldly upon the intruders, 
burned their buildings, and drove them into a fort which 
they had constructed in the centre of the town. The 
Spaniards were eventually victorious ; but the spirit of 
the Mapochonians was not broken, and for years afterwards 
they continued to harass the settlers in every possible 
manner. The opening of the rich mines of the valley of 
Quillota reconciled the colonists to every danger and 
privation; and, for convenient communication with Peru, 
a vessel was built in the river Chile, which flows through 
that district.. 

Yaldivia now sent emissaries to Peru, under convoy of 
thirty mounted men, to beat up for recruits. These mes- 
sengers were eight in number, and, as a bait to new adven- 
turers, their "spurs, bits, and stirrups he directed to be 
made of gold." A body of Copiapans attacked this party 
on their route, and slew all except two, named Alonzo 
Monroy and Pedro Miranda, whom they carried to their 
ulmen or cacique. By the intervention of the chief's 
wife their lives were spared, and they were engaged to 
teach the young prince, her son, the art of riding. The 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 579 

ungrateful Spaniards took advantage of the confidence 
placed in them, to murder their charge and escape on the 
horses. They succeeded in reaching Peru, and procured 
a considerable number of adventurers to try their fortunes 
in the new and promising regions of the south. 

The Chilians did not quietly submit to Spanish en- 
croachments. The inhabitants of Quillota, by an artful 
stratagem, drew the Spaniards connected with the mines 
into an ambuscade, and murdered nearly the whole num- 
ber; they followed up their advantage by burning the 
military stores and the vessel which had been built at 
the river Chile. Yaldivia had the good fortune or skill 
to overawe or conciliate the Promaucians, and an alliance 
was formed between the Spaniards and that tribe. 



CHAPTER II. 

the araucanians proper — character and habits of the tribe 
houses and dress — sectional divisions and govern- 
ment — system of warfare — courage and military 

skill religious belief and superstitions 

patriotism and public spirit of the 
natives — Molina's eulogium. 

Pushing his conquests and acquisitions further to the 
southward, the Spanish commander, in 1550, founded the 
city of Conception, but as the occupation of this spot led 
to the important events connected with the Araucanian 
war, we will follow the order of Molina, and give a brief 
account of the warlike people with whom the Spaniards j 
were now to contend. 

This author speaks enthusiastically of the noble char- 
acter of the Araucanians, their physical perfection, and 



1 



580 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

their powers of endurance. He says "they are intrepid, 
animated, ardent, patient in enduring fatigue, ever ready 
to sacrifice their lives in the service of their country, en- 
thusiastic lovers of liberty, which they consider as an 
essential constituent of their existence, jealous of their 
honour, courteous, hospitable, faithful to their engage- 
ments, grateful for services rendered them, and generous 
and humane towards the vanquished." Their failings, on 
the other hand, are "drunkenness, debauchery, presump- 
tion, and a haughty contempt for all other nations." 

The district of Arauco, from which the nation takes its 
name, is but a small province of the country inhabited by 
the race. This lies in the beautiful region between Con- 
ception and Yaldivia, extending back among the moun- 
tains. The inhabitants dwelt, in primitive simplicity, 
congregated in no large towns, but thickly scattered over 
the country in small rural villages. Their domestic and 
household arrangements were little more refined than we 
have described as common in Chili. Polygamy was gen- 
erally practised, and "the size of their houses proportioned 
to the number of women they could maintain." 

They wore woolen clothing, woven from the fleece of 
the native sheep, and consisting of close fitting under gar- 



ments, and over all the national Poncho, a most conve- 
nient and easily-constructed cloak, especially adapted to 
the use of horsemen. The women wore long dresses, 
with a short cloak, both fastened with ornamental brooches 
of silver. 

The Araucanian system of government is described by 
'Molina as being an hereditary aristocracy. The country 
was divided from north to south into four sections, the 
mountainous region at the east, the high land at the base 
of the Andes, the adjoining plain, and the sea coast. Each 
division was under the nominal sway of a Toqui, or su- 
preme cacique, but the real power was in the body of the 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 



581 



nobility or Ulmenes, who presided over the various sub- 
divisions of the state, and who decided in grand council 
upon public matters. Our author does not speak very 
highly of the judicial institutions of the country. Much 
trouble ensued from a system of retaliation by which minor 
offences were allowed to be punished. The capital crimes 
were "treachery, intentional homicide, adultery, the rob- 
bery of any valuable article, and witchcraft. Neverthe- 
less, those found guilty of homicide can screen themselves 
from punishment by a composition with the relations of 
the murdered." Each father of a family assumed and ex- 
ercised absolute power over his wives and children, and, 
by the custom of the country, he was not responsible even 
for taking their lives. 

In war, as among the ruder North American tribes, the 
direction and command of the armies was not conferred 
upon the supreme civil potentate, unless from his known 
skill and bravery he was deemed fully competent. A 
war-chief was not unusually appointed from among the 
inferior officers, and, when this was done, an absolute dic- 
tatorship was vested in the chosen leader, 

Soon after the arrival of the Spaniards in Chili, the 
Araucanians began to supply themselves with horses. Those 
which they obtained in battle multiplied to an immense 
extent, and the native inhabitants speedily acquired a re- 
markable degree of skill in their training and management. 
Swords, lances, slings, bows, pikes, and clubs were the 
national weapons. 

Such skill in the arts of war, in fortifications, in military 
regularity and discipline, and such bravery and efficiency 
in the open field, as was evinced by the Araucanians in 
their long contests with the Spaniards, entirely exceed 
any thing recorded of the other American races. 

The terrific destruction caused by artillery failed to con- 
fuse or appal them. In the words of Molina: " As soon 



582 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



as the first line is cut down, the second occupies its place, 
and then the third, until they finally succeed in breaking 
the front ranks of the enemy. In the midst of their fury, 
they nevertheless preserve the strictest order, and perform 
all the evolutions directed by their officers. The most 
terrible of them are the club-bearers, who, like so many 
Herculeses, destroy with their iron-pointed maces all they 
meet in their way." 

After a battle, the prisoners taken were held as slaves" 
until ransomed or exchanged: in some rare instances a 
single captive would be sacrificed. This was done, (with- 
out torture,) after the performance of a singular preliminary 
ceremonial. The victim was brought forward "upon a 
horse deprived of his ears and tail— as a mark of igno- 
miny." The proper officers then handed him a pointed 
stake, and a number of small sticks. He was compelled 
to dig a hole in the earth with the stake ; and to throw the 
sticks severally into it; naming, at each cast, one of the 
most renowned chiefs of his own country, "while, at the 
same time, the surrounding soldiers loaded these abhorred 
names with the bitterest execrations." After he had 
been forced to cover the hole "as if to bury therein the 
reputation and valor of their enemies," some one of the 
principal chiefs destroyed the captive by the blow of a 
war-club. His heart, it is said, was then taken out, and a 
little blood sucked from it by the officers standing around; 
after which, the body was dismembered, the bones were 
used for flutes, and the skull, (if not cracked,) served for a 
drinking vessel. 

All this sounds excessively barbarous, but Molina tells 
us that only one or two instances of the kind occurred 
during a period of nearly two hundred years. 

The religious belief of the Araucanians appears to have 
borne a strong resemblance to that of many North Amer- 
ican tribes. The idea of a supreme being; of good and 



THE AKAUCANIAN EACE. 



583 



evil spirits, especially one great demon named Guecubu ; 
of a future state of rewards and punishments, and the im- 
mortality of the soul, were universal. A vast number of 
superstitious signs and omens, some of them singularly 
analogous to those of ancient European nations, were 
drawn from earthquakes, storms, the flight of birds, and 
other natural phenomena. , 

Each person believed himself under the special care of 
a guardian angel, or familiar spirit, to whose aid and in- 
fluence success in any pursuit was generally referred. The 
Catholic missionaries were received with respect and kind- 
ness, but owing to a natural phlegm or indifference to such 
abstractions, they met with but little success in their efforts 
at promulgating their doctrines. 

The tradition of a deluge, so universally spread through- 
out the world, was current among these Indians, and in 
many other respects analogies, whether casual or not, could 
be traced between their belief and observances and those 
of the old world. The ceremonies and fanciful conceptions 
connected with the sepulture of the dead, if correctly re- 
ported, are not unlike many of those recorded of the 
ancients. 

Besides the compound of sorcerer and physician, whose 
services were required by the sick, as in every other part 
of America when the country was first discovered, the 
Araucanians had medical professors who made no preten- 
sions to supernatural powers. These are said to have 
possessed considerable skill in the diagnosis of diseases, 
and in the administration of simple remedies. Others 
devoted their attention to the treatment of broken limbs 
and ulcers, which they accomplished with no small success. 

Among the peculiarities of national character observable 
in the race the most prominent has ever been an indomita- 
ble spirit of patriotism, and a pride in their own country 
and usages, leading to a supreme contempt for all other 



584 INDIAN RACES OF AMEEICA. 

nations. They regard their own race as one vast broth- 
erhood every member of which is bound to assist and 
befriend his neighbor. Molina says: "The benevolence 
and kindness with which these people treat each other is 
really surprising. * * From the mutual affection which 
subsists between them, proceeds their solicitude recipro- 
cally to assist each other in their necessities. Not a beg- 
gar or an indigent person is to be found throughout the 
whole Araucanian territory; even the most infirm and 
incapable of subsisting themselves are decentlv clothed 

_ lnis benevolence is not, however, confined wholly to 
their own countrymen; they conduct with the greatest 
hospitality towards all strangers, of whatever nation, and a 
traveller may live in any part of their country without 
the least expense." 

. , The ; above acoo « nt is probably rather highly colored- 
indeed, this author has been accused of no little exaggera- 
tion m his comments upon Araucanian civilization. Noth- 
ing is more common than for a writer to be carried away 
by his subject; the biographer almost universally deifies 
his hero, and the historian of a particular nation is but 
too apt to fall into a similar error. 

In their houses and persons, the Araucanians have been 
described as standing in agreeable contrast with most of 
the aboriginal Americans, by a most remarkable cleanli- 
ness. In this respect they might well rival, if not surpass, 
the most polished society of Europe. 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 535 



CHAPTER III. 

ARMY SENT TO OPPOSE THE PROGRESS OF THE SPANIARDS BATTLE 

ON THE ANDALIEN LlNCOYAN's CAMPAIGN VALDIVIA's MARCH 

SOUTHWARD FOUNDATION OF VALDIVIA, AND ESTABLISHMENT 

OF FORTS IN THE ARAUCANIAN TERRITORY THE NATIVES 

ROUSED BY COLOCOLO — CAUPOLICAN MADE TOQUI HIS SUC- 
CESSES GREAT VICTORY OVER THE SPANIARDS DEATH 

OF VALDIVIA— INVASION OF ARAUCO BY VILLAGRAN 

HIS DEFEAT DESTRUCTION OF CONCEPTION LAUTA- 

RO'S FATAL EXPEDITION AGAINST SANTIAGO. 

In" order to check the advance of the Spaniards, the 
Araucanians determined not to await an actual invasion 
of their own territory, but to cross the river Bio-bio, which 
formed the boundary of their country, and attack them in 
force at their quarters in the adjoining province of Penco. 
The great cacique or Toqui, Aillavilu, with several thou- 
sand warriors, was commissioned for this service. The 
Spanish army was encountered on the banks of the An- 
dalien, and, for the first time in the history of American 
conquest, experienced the power of an enemy little infe- 
rior in skill, and fully equal in courage and determination 
to the trained soldiery of Europe. 

The Indians fought with desperate valor, regardless of 
the murderous effect of the Spanish fire-arms ; but their 
leader Aillavilu, rashly exposing himself in the hottest 
of the engagement, was slain, and his followers made an 
orderly retreat, unpursued by the Spaniards. To secure 
himself against future danger, Yaldivia at once erected a 
strong fort near his newly-founded city of Conception. 
This was in 1551, and in the following year the bold 
mountaineers of the south determined upon another great 
effort to dislodge the dangerous colony. 



586 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEEICA. 



One Lincoyan, an Ulmen of huge stature and imposing 
appearance, was created commander of the armies. In 
three bodies the Araucanians fell upon the Spaniards, and 
drove them within the fort. Hopeless of effecting any 
thing against this stronghold, Lincoyan drew off his forces : 
he is, indeed, accused by historians of a degree of irresolu- 
tion and timidity unworthy of his race. 

Yaldivia, left in undisturbed possession of his new ter- 
ritories, went on with the work of building his city, and 
strengthening his position. In 1552 he felt sufficient con- 
fidence in the number of his followers, augmented by fresh 
arrivals from Peru, to undertake active operations against 
the Araucanians. Lincoyan was still in command, and his 
efforts failed to arrest the progress of the invaders, who 
pressed on to the river Cauten, in the heart of the hostile 
territory. Here Yaldivia laid the first foundations of the 
future city Imperial, and sent Alderete, one of his officers, 
to commence the formation of a settlement by the lake of 
Lauquen. 

From this point the Spanish commander made his way 
to the southern border of the Araucanian territory, where 
the river Caliaealla divided it from that of the Cunches, 
experiencing little opposition from the vacillating and 
cautious Lincoyan. The Cunches, in great force, were 
prepared to oppose his entry into their domains; but, ac- 
cording to the accounts handed down to us, they were 
persuaded to lay aside their purpose, by a native woman, 
named Eecloma, Yaldivia was therefore enabled to cross 
the river in safety, and to found a city upon its southern 
bank, upon which he bestowed his own family name. 

On his return, in 1553, he erected forts in the provinces 
of Puren, Tucapel and Arauco. These operations were 
not carried on without hostilities with the natives ; but, in 
consequence, as is said, of the inefficiency of the military 
chief at their head, all their efforts were unsuccessful, and 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 587 

the Spaniards were beginning to despise the power of an 
enemy who was in after-times to prove invincible. 

Yaldivia retired to Conception, from which town he 
sent forth expeditions in various directions, forming mag- 
nificent plans for the entire occupation of the surrounding 
country. He anticipated little further resistance on the 
part of the inhabitants, but while he was indulging these 
hopes, and pondering new schemes of conquest, an influ- 
ence was at work to counteract his efforts and restore the 
native independence. Colocolo, an old cacique of Arauco, 
set himself in earnest to rouse up the whole nation to 
resistance. He visited province after province, pointing 
out the dangers of the supine course of Lincoyan, and 
urging the appointment of some more capable and ener- 
getic leader. 

A meeting of the Ulmenes was called, after the usual 
manner, in an open plain, and the merits of various rival 
candidates for the office of Toqui were stormily discussed. 
It was at last concluded to leave the decision with Colocolo, 
who fixed upon a chief not before brought forward; Cau- 
polican, Ulmen of Pilmayquen. 

The new general commenced operations against the 
Spanish fort in Arauco. Having taken prisoners a body 
of eighty Indians, who had been sent out by the garrison 
to gather forage, he put an equal number of his own war- 
riors in charge of the supplies, with their arms concealed 
among the bundles of grass or hay. These were admit- 
ted without suspicion into the fort, when, grasping their 
weapons, they attacked the Spaniards with inconceivable 
fury. Caupolican did not arrive quite soon enough, with 
his army, to take advantage of the confusion which ensued. 
As he came up, his brave company was driven out, the 
draw-bridge was raised, and the garrison stationed to de- 
fend the walls. He therefore invested the place, and, cut- 
ting off all supplies, compelled the Spaniards to evacuate 



588 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



it. This was accomplished without loss, by taking their 
departure under cover of night : "at midnight they mount- 
ed their horses, and, suddenly opening the gate, rushed out 
at full speed, and escaped through the midst of their ene- 
mies; the Araucanians, who supposed it to be one of their 
customary sallies, taking no measures to obstruct their 
flight." 

Following up his advantage Caupolican reduced the fort 
at Tucapel, and encamped at that place to await the ap- 
proach of the Spanish army. Valdivia, according to the 
expectation of the Toqui, promptly collected his forces 
for a grand struggle with the natives. The numbers of 
the respective armies are not certainly known; but it ap- 
pears probable that there were several hundred Spaniards, 
accompanied by ten times their number of Indian auxilia- 
ries, while the Araucanian forces are set down at nine or 
ten thousand. As he neared the enemies' camp, the Span- 
ish general sent forward ten mounted men under Diego 
del Oro, on a scout. These were surrounded and cut off 
by the Indians, and their heads were hung upon trees in 
sight of the advancing troops. 

It was upon the 3d of December, 1553, that the grand 
engagement took place. It was no ordinary Indian skir- 
mish, in which, if the natives could be dislodged from 
covert, their discomfiture was certain, but a pitched battle, 
depending no less upon military skill in the manoeuvres 
of the different battalions than upon individual courage 
and determination. The Spaniards were, it is true, greatly 
outnumbered, but they had, on the other hand, the im- 
mense advantage of fire-arms and other European weap- 
ons, with which they had so long been accustomed to 
scatter the hordes of rudely-equipped savages who op- 
posed them. 

The Araucanians appeared utterly reckless of life: line 
after line would be swept away by cannon and musketry, 



THE ARATJCANIAN RACE. 



589 



but fresh bodies were ready, at the word of command, to 
rush into the dangerous breach. Molina describes the 
result as follows: "Three times they retired in good order 
beyond the reach of the musketry, and as often, resuming 
new vigour, returned to the attack. At length, after the 
loss of a great number of their men, they were thrown 
into disorder, and began to give way. Caupolican, Tuca- 
pel (one of the most distinguished of their generals), and 
the old intrepid Colocolo, who was present in the action, 
in vain attempted to prevent their flight and reanimate 
their courage. The Spaniards shouted victory, and furi- 
ously pressed upon the fugitives. 

" At this momentous crisis, a young Araucanian, of but 
sixteen years of age, called Lautaro, whom Yaldivia, in 
one of his incursions, had taken prisoner, baptized and 
made his page, quitted the victorious party, began loudly 
to reproach his countrymen with their cowardice, and 
exhorted them to continue the contest, as the Spaniards, 
wounded and spent with fatigue, were no longer able to 
resist them. At the same time, grasping a lance, he turned 
against his late master, crying out, ' Follow me, my coun- 
trymen! victory courts us with open arms.'" 

Such resolution and courage on the part of a boy roused 
the fugitives to new exertions, and turned the scale of 
battle. The Spanish force was entirely destroyed — of the 
whole army, it is said that only two Indians escaped. 
Yaldivia was taken alive, and brought into the presence 
of the Toqui. Caupolican seemed disposed to favor the 
captive general, but an old officer, standing by, "enraged 
to hear them talk of sparing his life, dispatched the unfor- 
tunate prisoner with a blow of his club." 

A more fanciful tale of the manner of Yaldivia's death 
obtained some credence : Purchas makes mention of it as fol- 
lows in his synopsis of Chilian conquests and colonization : 

"In six and thirtie degrees is that famous Valley of 



590 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Arauco, which defend their persons and freedome, maugre 
all the force and furie of the Spaniards. * * They haue 
destroyed many of the Spaniards: they tooke the Citie 
Baldiuia in the yeare 1599, and slew the Spaniards. 
Twice before, if not oftner, they had burnt and spoiled it, 
Yea Baldiuia himselfe, the first conqueror of Chili, (for 
Almagro stayed not) and of whom that Citie receiued name, 
was taken by these Indians, his horse being slaine vnder 
him. They bid him feare nothing, hee should haue gold 
enough: and making a great banquet for him, brought in 
the last seruice, which was a cup full of molten gold which 
they forced him to drinke, saying; Now glut thy selfe with 
gold. This Baldiuia had entred Chili with foure hundred 
horse, and easily conquered that part which had beene 
subject to the Kings of Peru, but the other, which was 
the richer part, held out." 

To proceed with the more authentic narrative, Lautaro 
was immediately raised to the highest subordinate rank in 
the army, being made "lieutenant-general extraordinary," 
and the whole country resounded with his praise. 

When news of the fatal overthrow of Yaldivia reached 
the Spanish settlements, the inhabitants abandoned Yil- 
larica, Puren, and other minor establishments, retreating 
for safety within the walls of Yaldivia and Imperial. 
These two places were invested by Caupolican in force, 
while the gallant young Lautaro was entrusted with the 
defence of the mountain pass by which succours from the 
North would probably arrive. 

In accordance with directions left by Yaldivia for the 
conduct of the government in the event of his death, the 
office of governor devolved upon Francis Yillagran. Im- 
mediately upon assuming command, this officer made 
arrangements for another invasion of Arauco. 

He found Lautaro with his division prepared to oppose 
his entrance into the province. An advanced body of 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 



natives was driven in by the Spaniards, after some hours 
of hard fighting, and the invaders pressed up the moun- 
tain path to the spot where the young commander was 
posted. "This mountain," says Molina, "which on sev- 
eral occasions has proved fatal to the Spaniards, has on 
its summit a large plain, interspersed with shady trees. 
Its sides are full of clefts and precipices, on the part 
towards the west the sea beats, with great violence, and 
the east is secured by impenetrable thickets. A winding 
bye-path on the north was the only road that led to the 
summit of the mountain." 

Yillagran had six pieces of artillery, which he succeeded 
in bringing to bear, with effect, upon the Indians, while 
his musketeers poured continual volleys among their crowd- 
ed ranks. By the orders of Lautaro, a select body of war- 
riors charged the battery, and took possession of every 
cannon. This decided the fortune of the day ; the Span- 
iards and their allies were driven down the mountain in 
hopeless confusion, pursued by the victorious natives. To 
add to their difficulties, they found their retreat cut off by 
a barricade of logs. But a handful of the number sur- 
vived to carry the heavy news to Conception. 

The city was immediately deserted, as incapable of 
defence ; the women, children, and old men, were shipped 
on board the vessels in the harbor, to be carried to Val- 
paraiso and Imperial, while Yillagran, with the able-bodied 
men, took up his march for Santiago. 

The Araucanians plundered and destroyed the aban- 
doned city without opposition. The hurried departure of 
the Spaniards, and their insufficient means of conveyance, 
prevented the removal of much accumulated treasure, 
which consequently fell into the hands of the Indians. 

Yillagran, as soon as practicable, sent reinforcements to 
the besieged cities of Yaldivia and Imperial, upon which 
Caupolican drew off his forces, leaving the Spaniards to 



592 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



lay waste the surrounding country. A worse enemy than 
the European invaders, at this time, desolated the Indian 
territories: that terrible disease the small-pox was com- 
municated to the natives by some infected Spanish soldiers, 
and, as usual among a people unacquainted with its pecu- 
liarities, spread far and wide, producing a fearful mortality. 

In the year 1555, the Court of the Eoyal Audience, at 
Lima, in settling various disputed questions connected 
with Spanish government in Chili, directed Yillagran to 
rebuild the city of Conception. A colony was accordingly 
transported thither, and a strong fort was erected. This 
spot, it will be remembered, was to be northward of the 
Bio-bio, and without the Araucanian territory; but, at the 
request of the native inhabitants, an army of about two 
thousand men, under Lautaro, was sent to annihilate the 
growing settlement. 

The young chieftain was a second time completely suc- 
cessful. The Spaniards were slain, or driven to seek safety 
in their vessels, or by flight through the wilderness, and 
the buildings were again plundered and razed. 

Flushed with success, Lautaro now determined, with 
only six hundred warriors, to march a distance of some 
three hundred miles, and attack the town of Santiago. 
At the same time, Caupolican again laid siege to Yaldivia 
i and Imperial. Lautaro pursued his march peaceabty 
until he reached Promaucia, where he revenged his coun- 
try upon the treacherous allies of the Spaniards by ravag- 
ing and laying waste the district. This course of pro- 
ceeding has been pronounced grossly impolitic, as by 
conciliation and kindness he might have secured friends 
where he now left behind him implacable enemies. 

Instead of making an instantaneous attack upon the 
city, Lautaro deemed it more prudent to erect a fort to 
which he might retreat, and where he might, at his leisure, 
reconnoitre the enemy's strongholds, and choose his own 



I 

I 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 593 

time for assault or surprise. He therefore posted himself 
on the banks of the Claro. Eepeatecl attempts were made 
by the Spaniards to dislodge him, but again and again 
they were repulsed with heavy loss. The conduct of 
these sorties were intrusted to Pedro Yillagran, son of 
the governor, the old chief himself being at the time dis- 
abled by sickness. 

Upon his recovery, the veteran took with him an army 
of about two hundred Spaniards, with a thousand Indians, 
and marched, with great secresy and caution for Lautaro's 
camp. He succeeded in surprising the enemy, and gained 
a complete victory. The attack was made just at the 
dawn of day, when the Indians were totally unprepared : 
they fought with their usual desperation, and, after all 
hope of resistance was at an end, sternly refused to sur- 
render. "In vain," says Molina, "the Spanish commander 
repeatedly offered them quarter. * * The Araucanians 
perished to the last man, and fought with such obstinacy 
that they sought for death by throwing themselves on the 
| lances of their enemies." 

| Lautaro was slain by a dart in the very first of the mel£e. 
This was in 1556, and the brave and celebrated chief was 
consequently but nineteen years of age. His death was 
universally lamented; even the Spaniards, while exult- 
ing in the prospect of future safety, opened to them by his 
death, both felt and expressed the most enthusiastic admi- 
ration for his noble character and distinguished talents. 
Caupolican, hearing of the melancholy issue of Lautaro's 
expedition, raised the siege of Imperial, and repaired to 
the northern frontiers. 
38 



j 



594 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DON GARCIA DE MENDOZA ; HIS ESTABLISHMENT AT QUIRIQUINA 

FORT ON MOUNT PINTO ATTACKED RY CAUPOLICAN DON GARCIA's 

INVASION OF ARAUCO ; HIS CRUELTIES EXPEDITION TO CHILOE 

—ARTFUL MANAGEMENT OF THE CUNCHES— SEIZURE AND 

CRUEL DEATH OF CAUPOLICAN SUBSEQUENT SUCCESSES 

OF THE SPANIARDS RETREAT OF THE NATIVES TO THE 

MARSHES OF LUMACO INDIAN VICTORY AT MOUNT 

MARIGUENU — GENERAL SUMMARY OF SUCCEED- 
ING HOSTILITIES. 

In the month of April, 1557, Don Garcia de Mendoza, 
upon whom had been conferred the office of Spanish 
viceroy at Chili, arrived at the harbor of Conception, with 
a large force of infantry and abundant muniments of war. 
He first established himself upon the island of Quinquina, 
and sent messages to the Araucanian authorities express- 
ing a desire for the establishment of a permanent peace. 
Caupolican, with the concurrence of his council, sent one 
Millalauco to confer with the Spanish commandant, espe- 
cially charging him to note with great accuracy the num- 
bers and resources of the troops. Nothing but general 
expressions of amity and desire for tranquillity resulted 
from the conference, and Millalauco returned with full 
reports to Caupolican. The Toqui was immediately upon 
the alert, and made every preparation for obtaining instant 
information of the enemy's movements, and for opposing 
any establishment upon the main land. 

In the month of August, Don Garcia landed a detach- 
ment in the night, and secured the position of Mount 
Pinto, overlooking the plain and harbor. Here a fort was 
constructed, surrounded by a ditch, and defended by artil- 
lery. Only four days from the time of landing, the Arau- 
canian chief, with a large army, attacked the fort. 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 



595 



Filling the ditch with logs and fascines, the assailants, 
in the face of a murderous fire, made desperate efforts to 
scale the walls. Many succeeded, and threw themselves 
into the inclosure, willing to meet certain destruction that 
they might have a brief opportunity for wreaking their j 
long-cherished vengeance upon the Spaniards. Prodigies 
are related of the personal exploits of Tucapel, who en- 
couraged this audacity by his own example, but who, 
unlike his companions, succeeded in forcing his way back. 
After killing, as is said, "four of his enemies with his 
formidable mace, he escaped by leaping over a precipice, 
amidst a shower of balls." 

Eeinforcements were sent over from the island, and 
Caupolican was obliged to draw off his forces, leaving his 
purpose unaccomplished. The arrival, shortly after, of a 
great force of Spanish cavalry and Indian auxiliaries, by 
sea, rendered a repetition of the attempt hopeless. 

Thus strengthened, Don Garcia soon commenced offen- 
sive operations. He crossed the Bio -bio unopposed, and 
engaged the Araucanian army, a short distance beyond. 
The natives, notwithstanding every exertion, and the dis- 
play of a rash valor never surpassed, were driven off with 
terrible loss. 

Cruelty and barbarity unlike any thing before known 
in Chili, now marked the success of the conqueror. He j 
cut off the hands of a prisoner named Galverino, who had 
been a noted warrior, and sent him to his friends as a 
warning of what was in store for them : other captives he 
subjected to cruel tortures in order to extort information 
as to their general's plans and places of retreat, but their 
fortitude was proof against all the suffering he could inflict. 

Caupolican soon rallied his forces for another battle, 
which was more obstinately contested even than the first ; 
but the result was the same — the superiority in weapons, 
and the efficiency of the cavalry securing success to the 



596 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Spaniards. The mutilated Galverino, again taken prisoner, 
was hanged, with twelve of the native Ulmenes. 

Marching into the district of Tucapel, Don Garcia found- 
ed the city of Canete upon the spot of Yaldivia's former 
discomfiture. A strong fort was there built and garrisoned, 
and the command intrusted to one Alonzo Eeynoso, after 
which the conqueror returned in triumph to Imperial. 
From this town he sent large numbers of Spaniards to assist 
in the defence and establishment of the new city. On the 
route, these settlers were furiously attacked by the natives, 
but after suffering some loss in men and stores, they ef- 
fected an entrance into the fortification. Caupolican then 
set himself systematically to reduce the place. In the 
attempt to secure an advantage by the introduction of a 
spy within the walls, he was himself completely over- 
reached by the cunning of one of the Indian allies of the 
Spaniards. This man, discovering the errand of the spy, 
secured his confidence by pretending hatred against the 
invaders, and by promising his aid in admitting the be- 
siegers within the walls. Caupolican was regularly en- 
trapped: a gate was left open to give opportunity for an 
entrance into the fort, but when such a number had en- 
tered as could safely be mastered, the passage was closed, 
and by a sudden and unexpected attack, those within the 
walls were cut to pieces, and those without completely 
routed. Caupolican escaped to the mountains, but three 
of his ofiicers were taken prisoners, and blown from the 
muzzles of cannon. 

The years 1558 and 1559 were memorable among the 
Spanish settlers of Chili, for the expedition of Don Garcia 
to the archipelago of Chiloe. By an artful policy, adopt- 
ed in accordance with the advice of an Araucanian, the 
Cunches averted the usual terrors of European invasion. 
They pretended extreme poverty, sending to the general a 
present of " roasted lizards and wild fruits," and carefully 



THE ABATJGAN1AN RACE. 597 

concealing every sign of wealth, particularly in the precious 
metals. A gnide furnished by them to the Spaniards was 
instructed to lead the army southward by the most deso- 
late and dangerous routes, the more effectually to discour- 
age any plans of settlement and colonization. 

Arriving, at last, after unheard-of toil and privation, at 
the beautiful archipelago, the Spaniards were kindly and 
generously entertained by the natives. On his return, 
through the level country of the Huilliches, Don Grarcia 
founded the city of Orsino. 

It was during this absence of the viceroy that the brave 
Caupolican fell into the hands of his enemies. Alonzo 
Eeynoso extorted, by torture of a prisoner, the disclosure 
of his place of retreat, and sent a corps of mounted men to 
surprise him. By order of the cruel commandant, this 
brave and venerated ruler was impaled, and in that posi- 
tion dispatched with arrows. 

The office of Toqui was conferred upon a son of the 
old chief, Caupolican the younger, and the redoubted 
Tucapel was made second in command. An army of 
Araucanians, led by the new commander, was immediately 
upon the march for the city of Conception. Alonzo Eey- 
noso followed, with nve hundred men, to attack this body 
in the rear; but was signally defeated in an engagement 
north of the river Bio-bio, which he hardly succeeded in 
recrossing with a remnant of his followers. Instead of 
following out his original design against Conception, young 
Caupolican transferred his forces to Imperial, where Don 
Garcia had fortified himself. He was unable to take the 
city, although he besieged it closely for a long time, mak- 
ing many furious and desperate attacks. The Spaniards 
were strengthened by constant arrivals of military adven- 
turers from Spain and Peru, and as their defences were 
good, their loss in these engagements was small, as com- 
pared with that of the Indian besiegers. An attempt to 



598 



INDIAX RACES OF AMERICA. 



rouse a rebellion among the Indian allies at the Spanish 
camp, was discovered, and all concerned were put to death. 
Two of the emissaries of the Toqui were "impaled in the 
sight of the Araucanian army, to whom they recommended 
with their last breath to die in defence of the liberties of 
their country. One hundred and twenty of the auxiliaries 
were also hung on the ramparts, exhorting the others to 

: favor the enterprise of their countrymen." 

\ Canpolican withdrew from the" city, and established | 

i himself at a place called Quipeo, between Conception and 
the fortress of Canete, the nature of which was such that 
it could easily be defended. Here he stoutly resisted all 
efforts to dislodge him for a longtime; but was finally I 
worsted in an incautious sally. His army was mostly 
destroyed; Tucapel, Colocolo, Lincoyan, and others of his 
bravest officers, had fallen; and, seeing escape impossible, 
the young chief put an end to his own life. 
_ Every thing now seemed to favor the Spaniards: they 
little thought that after such a reverse, and the experience 
of the misery and horrors of a long and bloody war, the 
natives would again make head against them. The inter- 
val of peace was occupied in restoring the old fortifications 

! and settlements, and in the establishment of new posts. 
It was at this time that the city of Mendoza, east of the 
Andes, was founded. 

_ Nearly all the Araucanian officers, and a large propor- 
tion of the young men of the tribe, had perished in the 
last disastrous campaigns, but the indomitable spirit of the 
nation survived. A brave chief, named Antiguenu, was 
chosen Toqui, and the shattered forces of the nation were 
assembled in the gloomy and almost impenetrable marshes 
j of Lumaco. Here Antiguenu "caused high scaffoldings 
to be erected to secure his men from the extreme moisture," 
and devoted himself to training and instructing such new ! 
recruits as could be collected. 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACE. 



599 



Don Garcia had, in the mean time, been superseded in 
his office of Spanish viceroy, by the former incumbent, 
Francis Villagran ; who, hearing of the late defeat of the 
natives, supposed that he now occupied an easy and secure 
position. He was undeceived by the intelligence that the 
new Toqui was beginning to give his army some practical 
lessons in the art of war by various predatory visits to the 
Spanish settlements. 

The first serious engagement, in this campaign, took 
place at the summit of Mount Mariguenu, the scene of 
former disaster to the Spaniards. Antiguenu, familiar 
with the advantages of the locality, was posted at this 
spot, and Villagran sent one of his sons, with the most 
efficient force at his disposal, to attack the enemy in their 
quarters. The result of the attempt was as fatal as upon 
former occasions : the leader of the assailants was slain, 
and nearly the entire Spanish army destroyed. The To- 
qui followed up his advantage by the seizure and destruc- 
tion of the fortress at Canete. 

About this time Pedro Villagran, by the death of Francis, 
his father, succeeded to the office of governor. Antiguenu 
had now at his disposal an army of not far from four thou- 
sand men, and felt sufficiently strong to divide his forces, 
and make a simultaneous attack upon the city of Concep- 
tion and the fortress at Arauco. 

The city resisted all the attempts of the natives, although 
close siege was laid to it for two months ; but the detach- 
ment led into Arauco by Antiguenu in person was more 
successful. The commandant, Lorenzo Bernal, defended 
his post with great bravery, holding out against all the as- 
saults of the enemy until reduced by famine to evacuate the 
fort. The Spaniards were not disturbed in their retreat, the 
business of destroying the buildings and fortifications, so 
long a harbor for the enemy in the heart of their own 
country, fully occupying the attention of the Araucanians. 



600 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Several interesting incidents are recorded connected with 
this siege: upon one occasion, Antiguenu challenged the 
Spanish commandant to a private personal encounter, and- 
the duel was accordingly fought in sight of both armies. 
" The battle between these two champions," says the histori- 
an, "was continued for two hours without either obtaining 
any advantage, or injuring the other, till they were at 
length separated by their men." Such trials of strength 
and skill between renowned warriors of either party were 
not uncommon during the protracted wars of Chili. 

Not long after the reduction of Canete and the fort at 
Arauco, a general engagement took place between the In- 
dians and Spaniards at the junction of the Yergosa and 
Bio-bio, in which the former were totally routed. Anti- 
guenu with many of his followers fell, or was forced, from 
a steep bank into the stream, and there perished. A ter- 
rible havoc was commited among the discomfitted army, 
not, however, without great loss to the victors, and the 
Araucanian power seemed, a second time, to be effectually 
crushed. This was in the year 1564. 

The sagacious and prudent Paillataru, a relative of the 
lamented Lautaro, was the next Toqui, and, like his pre- 
decessor, he set himself, at first, to recruit his forces and 
repair the disasters of war. For years he hazarded no 
open battle with the whites, but inured his warriors to ser- 
vice by flying incursions. 

In 1565 a new Spanish viceroy, Eodrigo de Quiroga, 
restored the posts at Canete and Arauco, and built a new 
fort at Quipeo. With little opposition, he laid waste those 
portions of the Araucanian territory that were within his 
reach, and dispatched a body of troops to the southward, 
to bring into subjection the islands of the Chiloan archi- 
pelago. The mild and gentle inhabitants of that groupe 
submitted without an effort to the dictation of the Span- 
iards, offering no resistance to the burdens of personal 



THE AKAUCANIAN EACE. 601 | 

service, &c., imposed upon them by their new masters. In 
after-times they proved equally tractable in adopting the 
religion of their conquerors. 

For thirty years from the installation of Paillataru, 
bloody and desolating wars were, at intervals, waged be- 
tween the Spaniards and Araucanians. The former, from 
the steady increase of their numbers, acquired a stronger 
foothold in the country, and the result of hostilities was 
generally in their favor. Occasionally some terrible reverse 
would serve to remind them that the enemy was not yet 
conquered, but that the old spirit still burned with undi- 
minished energy. The Araucanians acquired the use of 
horses, thereby gaining great facilities for flying incursions. 
To a certain extent they had, moreover, learned to avail 
themselves of such fire-arms as were secured in battle. 

Paillataru defeated the Spaniards yet again upon Mount 
Mariguenu, and, as well as his successor, the mustee or 
half-breed Paynenancu, proved a thorn in the sides of the 
colonists. The Ulman of Mariguenu, Cayancaru, was made 
Toqui in 1585, after the seizure and execution of Payne- 
nancu. This ruler, disappointed in various bold but 
unsuccessful campaigns, resigned office in favor of his son 
Nangoniel, who was soon after slain in battle. A noted 
warrior, named Cadeguala, succeeded him. 

The new Toqui, after various other warlike operations, 
laid siege to the Spanish fort at Puren. Becoming weary 
of delay, his chivalrous spirit led him to challenge the 
commandant, Garcia Eamon, to single combat, thereby to 
decide the fate of the fortress. The two leaders accord- 
ingly fought on horseback, with lances, and Cadeguala fell 
transfixed by his adversary's weapon at the first tilt. 

Guanoalca, the next in authority, continued to wage 
war with the Spaniards, and gained many advantages. 
He reduced and took possession of the fortresses at Puren, 
Trinidad, and Spirito Santo. During this administration, 



602 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



flourished a celebrated female warrior, named Janequeo, 
who in 1590, with a horde of the wild and roving Puelches 
of the eastern districts, harassed the Spanish settlements. 

The young chief Quintuguenu, succeeded Guanoalca, 
upon the death of that Toqui in 1591, and although a 
brave and noble warrior, was doomed to defeat and death 
at the spot most famous for his countrymen's victories. 
He fell on the heights of Mariguenu, where his army was 
destroyed or dispersed. One Paillaeco was elected in his 
place, but with reduced forces he could effect little against 
the Spaniards, encouraged as they were by recent success. 
The old forts and posts destroyed under the sway of pre- 
ceding rulers were rebuilt and fortified in the years 1591 
and 1592. 



CHAPTER V. 

VICEROYALTY OF MARTIN LOYOLA — PAILLAMACHU — RENEWAL OF 

THE WAR LOYOLA SLAIN — GENERAL INSURRECTION OF THE 

NATIVES—THE SPANIARDS DRIVEN FROM THE COUNTRY 
SOUTH OF THE BIO-BIO— BLOODY CAMPAIGNS UNDER 

SEVERAL SUCCESSIVE TOQUIS PEACE OF 1640— TEN 

YEARS' WAR SUBSEQUENT TREATIES AND HOSTILI- 
TIES—PRESENT POSITION OF THE ARAUCANIANS. 

In 1593 Don Martin Loyola, nephew of Ignatius, the 
originator of the order of Jesuits, arrived at Chili, invested 
with the oflice of governor under the Spanish monarchy. 
During the period of his authority arose the renowned 
Paillamachu, next in regular succession to Paillaeco. He 
was an old man, but endowed with singular energy and 
activity. For two years he kept aloof, recruiting and dis.- 
ciplining his forces at the old retreat among the Lumacan 



THE ARAUCANIAN KACE. 



603 



morasses, while the Spaniards had opportunity, unmolest- 
ed, to restore their ruined cities, to work the rich mines 
of the mountains, and to strengthen their positions as they 

j would. The Toqui, by an ambassador, gave Loyola dis- 
tinctly to understand that he and his followers were, as 
firmly as their forefathers, determined never to be brought 
into subjection. 

Paillamachu's first attempt against his enemies was by 
sending a detachment (in 1595) to destroy a fortification 
erected by Loyola at the southward of the Bio-bio. From 
this time he continued to attack and plunder the Spanish 
settlements wherever opportunity offered, avoiding general 
engagements, and retreating with his booty to his inacces- 
sible fastnesses. On the night of November 22d, 1598, 
he succeeded in surprising and slaying the Spanish gov- 
- ernor, at his encampment (with a slender retinue) in the 
vale of Caralva. "It would seem," (by Molina's account) 
" that the Araucanian general had formed confident hopes 

j of the success of this bold enterprise, since, in consequence 
of his previous instructions, in less than forty-eight hours 
after this event, not only the Araucanian provinces, but 
those of the Cunches and Huilliches, were in arms, and 
the whole of the country to the archipelago of Chiloe." 

The native armies met with unprecedented success; 
town after town fell before them, reduced by siege or car- 
ried by storm. Conception, Chilian, Canete, the Araucan 
fort, Yaldivia, and other settlements, were destroyed, and 
the inhabitants slain, driven off, or carried away captives. 
Villarica, Osorno, and Imperial were conquered, in 1602, 
after protracted siege, in which the miserable citizens suf- 
fered every extremity from famine and terror. ''Thus, in 
a period of little more than three years, were destroyed all 
the settlements which Yaldivia and his successors had 
established and preserved, at the expense of so much blood, 
in the extensive country between the Bio-bio and the 



604 



INDIAN" RACES OF AMERICA. 



archipelago of Chiloe, none of which have been since 
rebuilt, as what is at present called Valdivia is no more 
than a fort or garrison." — (Molina's Civil History of Chili; 
written about the close of the eighteenth century.) 

Great numbers of Spanish prisoners were carried home 
by the Indians, and experienced great diversity of treat- 
ment. Many intermarried with the natives, giving origin 
to a race of half-breeds, who proved as inimical towards 
the Spaniards as their dusky ancestors. 

The brave and sagacious Paillamachu died in 1603. 
Eepeated, but futile attempts were made by the Spaniards 
for several years ensuing, to recover their lost territory 
south of the Bio-bio. The Indians, fortunate in having 
brave and sagacious rulers, and with all their ancient 
pride and patriotic enthusiasm fully aroused, successfully 
resisted every invasion. About the year 1612, a move- 
ment was made by a Jesuit, named Louis Yaldivia, to put 
an end to this hopeless warfare, that an opening might be 
made for the spread of the Christian religion among the 
independent tribes. The Spanish monarch, Philip the 
Third, highly approved of the plan, and proposals were 
forwarded to the Toqui and his council, by means of cer- 
tain liberated prisoners. 

While the treaty of peace was under negotiation, and 
flattering prospects of quiet appeared to the settlers, an 
event occurred which put a speedy end to all peaceful 
intercourse. Ancanamon, the Toqui, had a Spanish wo- 
man as one of his wives, who made her escape from his 
power, and sought protection from the Spanish viceroy. 
Two other wives of the Toqui, and two of his daughters, 
won over by her persuasions to embrace her religion, 
accompanied her in her flight. 

The Spaniards refused to deliver up these refugees, with 
the exception of one who had not professed Christianity, 
and Ancanamon, enraged at the supposed injury, slew a 



THE ARAUCANIAN KACE. 605 

number of missionaries who had been conducted into his 
dominions, and with renewed energy continued the pros- 
ecution of the war. 

About the year 1618, a most fierce and dangerous 
enemy of the Spaniards had the dictatorship of the Arau- 
canian tribes. This was the celebrated Toqui Lientur. 
A chain of military posts and strong fortifications had 
been erected by the Spanish authorities upon the Bio-bio, 
to prevent Indian incursions, but they availed nothing 
against the rapid and energetic movements of the native 
commander. Until his resignation, in 1625, he not only 
preserved his own country from Spanish occupation, but 
made continual inroads into the enemy's territory, plun- 
dering their villages and destroying the forces brought to 
oppose him. In his very first expedition, he is said to have 
seized and carried off no less than four hundred horses. 

His successor, the young warrior Putapichion, who had 
been formerly a slave among the whites, proved a no less 
formidable adversary. He continued in authority until 
slain in battle about eight years from the time of his acces- 
sion; a period marked by many extensive and bloody 
campaigns, in which the Spaniards, although more success- 
ful than during former administrations, could obtain no 
permanent footing upon Araucanian soil. At the last 
grand engagement, which, in consequence of his death, 
resulted favorably for the Spaniards, the manner in which 
this chief marshaled and brought his forces to action ex- 
cited the admiration of his enemies. 

The obstinacy with which these wars were carried on 
during a period of little less than a century, until the peace 
concluded in 1640, is almost without parallel. The history 
of the times does not record a series of petty skirmishes, 
but a succession of desperate campaigns, in which the known 
valor and obstinacy of the Spaniard were no less conspicu- 
ous than the utter carelessness of life and enthusiastic self- 



606 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



devotion of the Indian. The success of either party would, 
from time to time, seem to threaten the utter extermination 
of their rivals, but defeat only compelled a retreat, on the 
one hand within the fortified towns, and on the other into 
the impenetrable wilderness, until new forces could be 
raised and new plans of assault concocted. 

In the year last mentioned the Marquis of Baydes, Fran- 
cisco Zuniga, came out to Chili as governor, and exerted 
himself successfully to obtain an interview with the Toqui 
Lincopichion, and to conclude terms for a lasting peace. 

An immense concourse of both races attended at the 
time and place appointed for the solemn ratification of the 
treaty, and days were passed in feats and congratulatory 
ceremonials. Prisoners were exchanged, trade was estab- 
lished, and free scope was given to the exertions of the 
devout ecclesiastics who assumed the duty of converting 
the Indians. These missionaries were well and respect- 
fully treated, but met with no marked success in the propa- 
gation of their doctrines. 

The peace lasted until about 1655, when it was succeeded 
by a ten years' war, the particulars of which are only 
recorded in the most general terms. It is certain that 
during this season of hostility the Spanish colonists met 
with such terrible losses, and were, upon many occasions, 
so signally defeated by the Araucanians, that the preser- 
vation of a true history of events would be little flattering 
to their national pride. 

A new treaty was brought about in 1665, by the gov- 
ernor, Francisco Meneses, and the country was compara- 
tively at rest for more than half a century. The Spaniards 
began to settle in the Araucanian territory, and, in conse- 
quence of their naturally overbearing disposition, became 
objects of dislike and suspicion to the native inhabitants. 
Certain Spanish officials, denominated the "Captains of the 
Friends," whose nominal duty was the protection of the 



THE ARAUCANIAN RACES. 607 

missionaries, but who assumed unwarranted powers, were 
especially odious. 

In 1722 the discontent of the Indians led them to a 
renewal of hostilities. They appointed one Yillumilla, a 
bold and ambitious man, to the office of Toqui. This 
chief exerted himself to rouse up an insurrection through- 
out Chili, but, failing in this, with undiminished resolution, 
he collected what forces could be mustered, and fell upon 
the Spanish settlements. He met with no little success, 
gaining possession of the fortresses of Tucapel, Arauco, 
and Puren. In the words of the historian, "The war 
afterwards became reduced to skirmishes of but little im- 
portance, which were finally terminated by the celebrated 
peace of Negrete, a place situated at the confluence of the 
rivers Bio-bio and Lara." The more important grievances 
complained of by the natives were redressed at the settle- 
ment of the terms of treaty. 

Further difficulties arose under the administration of 
Don Antonio Gonzaga, in consequence of an absurd and 
futile attempt by that officer to induce or compel the 
Araucanians to build and inhabit cities in certain pre- 
scribed localities. A war ensued in which some bloody 
battles were fought, and in which the roving Pehuenches 
were involved, first in behalf of the Spaniards, but after- 
wards as firm allies of their own countrymen. Peace was 
concluded in 1773; and among the articles of stipulation, 
it was agreed that a native minister should be stationed at 
St. Jago to keep watch over his nation's interests. 

This pacification produced the happiest results. Believed 
from the danger of hostile incursions, the Spanish settle- 
ments north of that natural boundary, the Bio-bio, in- 
creased and prospered, while the free tribes at the south 
were left to the exercise of their own system of government 
and the enjoyment of their well-earned liberty. 

The proud distinction of being the only aboriginal 



608 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Americans who have maintained their independence when 
brought directly in contact with Europeans ; still belongs 
to the Araucanians. They occupy much of their old 
territory within the modern republic of Chili, a district 
set down as covering an area of twenty-eight thousand 
square miles. 

It may well be doubted whether the world has ever 
produced a race of men, who, with no greater advantages, 
from numbers, and advancement in the arts, have accom- 
plished military exploits worthy to be compared with 
those recorded in Araucanian history. The different aims 
and purposes of the contending parties throughout the long 
and terrible contest with the colonists, enlist our warmest 
sympathies with the natives. On the one hand, the insa- 
tiable thirst for gold, the pride of conquest, or the scarcely 
less detestable spirit of intolerant bigotry, were the ruling 
motives — and how powerful they have proved, let the his- 
tory of Spanish America portray — while, on the other, the 
whole end and aim of the rightful owners of the soil, in- 
dividually and collectively, seem to have been directed 
with unflinching self-devotion towards the one object of 
the preservation of liberty and independence. 

The principal benefit derived by the modern Araucani- 
ans from intercourse with foreigners is in the introduction 
of horses and cattle. These, with the vicuna and guanaco, 
constitute their principal riches: they still live in a state 
of primeval simplicity, and freedom from most of the arti- 
ficial wants of civilization. 



INDIAN TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER I. 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS PINZON's DISCOVERIES LANDING OF 

PEDRO ALVAREZ CABRAL UPON THE BRAZILIAN COAST EXPEDI- 
TION UNDER VESPUCIUS CANNIBALISM COLONIZATION OF THE 

COUNTRY, AND WARS WITH THE NATIVES— FATE OF JUAN DE 

SOLIS, AT THE ESTUARY OF LA PLATA SETTLEMENT OF 

BAHIA DE TODOS SANTOS BY DIOGO ALVAREZ THE 

JESUITS PARTICULARS OF THE CANNIBAL PROPEN- 
SITIES OF THE NATIVES- — THE BOTOCUDOS. 

There is a certain degree of resemblance in form and 
feature between the Guarani tribes of Brazil with those 
| of other provinces further south, and the races north of 
| the Amazon, described in a former chapter. The obliquity 
of the eye, and the yellowish tinge of the complexion, with 
other peculiarities, give them somewhat the appearance of 
the Eastern Asiatic races. "The Eastern Guarani," ac- 
cording to Prichard, "are the Tupi, or native inhabitants 
j of the Brazils. 'The general language of Brazil,' says 
| Hervas, 1 called Tupi, from the name of the first Indians 
| who were converted to the holy faith, is not more different 
from the Guarani, viz : of Paraguay, than the Portuguese 
from the Spanish.' The same writer enumerates, from in- 
formation derived from ecclesiastics, the following tribes 
who speak the Tupi, with little variety of dialect, viz : the 
Cariyi, southward of the Tupi proper, reaching as far 
towards the south as the Bio Grande del Sud or S. Pietro, 
39 



610 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

the Tamoyij Tupinaqui, Timmiminos, Tobayari, Tupin- 
ambi, Apanti, Tapigoas, and several other tribes, occupy- 
ing all the maritime countries as far north as the river 
Maragnon." 

The first information obtained by Europeans concerning 
Brazil and its inhabitants, was from the report of Vicente 
Pinzon, the associate of Columbus upon his first voyage 
to America. On the 26th of January, 1500, Pinzon, who, 
with several vessels, was bound upon an exploring expedi- 
tion, made the present Cape St. Augustine, at the eastern 
extremity of the southern continent. He took formal pos- 
session of the country, and coasted thence as far north as 
the mouth of the Amazon, of which he was the discoverer. 
The voyage was in some respects disastrous, as three of the 
vessels were lost, and several men perished in encounters 
with the ferocious natives. Upon one occasion, a single 
Spaniard was sent forward to conciliate and parley with 
a group of Indians who stood upon a hill watching the 
movements of the strangers. " The Spaniard," says Southey, 
in his history of Brazil, "made all the friendly signs he 
could devise, and threw to them a hawks'-bell, for which 
they threw down something which was supposed to be a 
piece of gold ; he stooped for it, and they sprang forward 
to seize him." He defended himself with great valor and 
skill, until his comrades hastened to his assistance. "The 
savages, with their deadly archery, slew eight, wounded 
many more, and pursued them to their boats. * * They 
rushed on like wild beasts, despising wounds and death ; 
followed the boats even when they had put off, dived after 
them, and fairly won one of them, having slain its captain 
and driven out the crew " 

From this incident it will plainly appear that the Span- 
ish adventurers had an enemy to deal with very different 
from the gentle and luxurious natives of the islands. That 
the aborigines of some portions of Brazil were a warlike 



INDIAN TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 



611 



and fierce race of cannibals, cannot be doubted from the 
accounts given by early voyagers, although some have j 
affected to doubt whether they were actually accustomed | 
to devour human flesh. 

During the spring following Pinzon's discovery, Pedro I 
Alvarez Cabral accidentally came upon the Brazilian 
coast, as he was steering westward to avoid the terrible 
calms which prevail west of the tropical regions of Africa. 
He landed at the spot afterwards the site of Cabralia, about 
seventeen degrees south of Cape St. Augustine. Cabral 
was much more successful than his predecessor in gaining 
the confidence of the natives. The tribe with whom he 
first held intercourse was, indeed, of a more tractable and 
kindly disposition than those met with by Pinzon: the 
usual expedient of securing a prisoner, and then dismiss- 
ing him with caresses and presents, brought the natives 
in admiring crowds about the vessel. 

Cabral took possession, in behalf of the crown of Por- 
tugal, and, erecting a crucifix, ordered the ceremonials of 
the church to be performed, the Indians joining readily in 
the attitude of devotion assumed by the company. 

The next Portuguese expedition, under Amerigo Ves- 
pucci, sailed from Europe in May, 1501. Land was made 
somewhere in the vicinity of Cape St. Eoque, in five de- 
grees south latitude, where the voyagers were horror- 
stricken at the discovery of the cannibal propensities of 
the native inhabitants.; Two sailors were missing, who 
had been allowed to go on shore to reconnoitre, and the 
crew landed in the boats to ascertain their fate. A young j 
Portuguese imprudently went forward alone to communi- 
cate with the natives, when, in plain sight of his comrades, I j 
he was set upon by the women, knocked down with a | 
club from behind, and dragged off. An attack upon the j 
boats immediately followed, and, although the savages | 
were easily driven off by the fire-arms, they only retired to j 



I 

612 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

dismember, broil, and feast upon the body of the man 
they had secured. By unmistakable gestures, they made 
I known to the crew that the other two Portuguese had met 
with the same fate. 

ISTo settlement in the country was attempted until the 
year 1503, when twenty-four men were left at the port of 
All Saints. Private adventurers commenced colonies at 
I various points upon the coast during the ensuing years, 
, making the collection of the wood from which the country 
! derives its name, the principal object of their efforts. A 
j most bloody and savage warfare soon broke out between 
j these settlers and the native inhabitants, in which either 
party seemed to strive for preeminence in cruelty. A 
I system of transporting criminals from the old country to 
Brazil served to debase the character of the colonies. In 
warfare with the Indians, on the one hand, the prisoners j 
were slain and eaten ; and on the other, all were put to I 
death except such as would be valuable for slaves. 

Meantime, the rage for discovery brought out divers | 
adventurers from the Old World. In 1509, Don Juan de ! 
i Solis, accompanied by Yicente Pinzon, and commissioned j 
; by the king of Castile, coasted as far south as the mouth i 
i of the La Plata, entering upon his route the magnificent 
harbor of Eio Janeiro. The tragic fate of this commander 
! is thus described by Southey: While in the immense 
! estuary of the river, "the natives invited him to shore, 
and he landed with a boat's-crew,. intending to catch one 
j of them and carry him to Spain. Their intention was 
worse than his, and better executed. They had stationed 
a party in ambush, who rose suddenly upon the crew, 
; seized the boat, broke it to pieces in an instant, and slew 
every man with clubs: then they took the bodies upon 
their shoulders, carried them to a spot which was out of 
the reach of the Spaniards, but within sight, and there ciis- 
membered, roasted, and devoured them. The scene of I i 



J 



INDIAN TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 



613 



this tragedy was on the north shore, between Monte Video 
and Maldonado, near a rivulet, which still bears the name 
of Solis." 

The circumstances connected with the first settlement 
of Bahia de Todos Santos, the province of which St. Sal- 
vador was afterwards the capital, are singularly striking. 
A young man, from Yiana, named Diogo Alvarez, was 
one of a ship's company who had been cast away upon 
the neighboring shoals. Of those who reached the shore 
in safety, Diogo was the only one fortunate enough to 
escape being devoured. He managed to gain the good- will 
of the Indians by his services, and more especially com- 
manded their respect and reverence by his management 
of a musket, which, with a store of ammunition, he had 
saved from the wreck. They denominated him Caramuru, 
"the man of fire," and exalted him to the rank of a great 
chief and captain. In wars against the nation of the 
Tapuyas, the terror of Diogo's wonderful weapon gained 
the most signal victories for his associates : in reward for 
his services, the principal men of the country gave him 
their daughters for wives, and he lived like a sovereign sur- 
rounded by reverential attendants. According to Southey, 
"He fixed his abode where Villa Velha was afterwards 
erected ; and soon saw as numerous a progeny as an old 
patriarch's rising around him. The best families in Bahia 
trace their origin to him." 

Diogo took advantage of the arrival of a French vessel 
upon the coast to return to Europe, taking with him one 
of his wives, named Paraguaza. As the ship got under 
weigh, several of his other consorts gave proof of their 
affection by swimming after it, and one of them persisted 
in the hopeless endeavor to follow, until so exhausted that 
she perished before being able to return to shore. The 
king and queen of France showed great attention to Diogo 
and his wife, and by their directions the latter was bap- 



614 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



tized with much ceremony, and joined to her husband by 
a legal marriage according to the rules of the church. 

By the assistance of a rich merchant, Diogo afterwards 
returned to Bahia with many conveniences for establishing 
himself in security and comfort, and for the arrangement 
of a regular system of traffic in the productions of the 
country. He proved of inestimable service, in after years, 
when an extensive colonization of that region took place, 
in keeping up friendly relations with the Indians. From 
this central point, where St. Salvador was built, commenced 
that wonderful influence exerted by the Jesuit mission- 
aries over the native population. 

These enthusiastic devotees found their proselytes not 
unapt in acquiring the Portuguese language, and by the 
attractions of music, of which they were passionately fond, 
together with kind treatment and virtuous example, they 
won over great numbers to a conformation to the outward 
requisitions of their faith, if not to an understanding of its 
abstractions. One thing, however, seemed almost imprac- 
ticable, and that was to eradicate the inordinate propensity 
to cannibalism, so universally diffused among the Brazilian 
aborigines. An anecdote upon this point, related by Mr. 
Southey, has been often told, but will bear repetition: "A 
J esuit one day found a Brazilian woman in extreme old 
age, and almost at the point of death. Having catechised 
her, instructed her, as he conceived, in the nature of Chris- 
tianity, and completely taken care of her soul, he began to 
inquire whether there was any kind of food which she 
could take? 'Grandam,' said he, 'if I were to get you a 
little sugar now, or a mouthful of some of our nice things 
which we bring from beyond sea, do you think you could 
eat it?' £ Ah, my grandson,' said the old convert, 'my 
stomach goes against every thing. There is but one thing 
which I fancy I could touch. If I had the little hand of 
a little tender Tapuya boy, I think I could pick the 



INDIAN TKIBES OF BRAZIL. 



little bones; but, woe is me, there is nobody to go out 
and shoot one for me!'" 

In addition to the instructions and persuasions of the 
Jesuits, the Portuguese colonial authorities lent their aid 
to enforce the regulations prohibiting this unnatural cus- 
tom, but it was long a bone of contention between them and 
their Indian dependents, who were willing to give up any 
other of their national usages rather than this. Purchas 
gives the following description of some of the ceremonies 
attendant upon the disposal of prisoners taken in battle : 

" Their captiues they conuey in the middest of their 
armie home to their territories, and thereuntoe the men 
will not sticke to give their sisters or daughters to per- 
forme all the duties of a wife, and feed them with the best 
till they redemand the same out of their flesh. * * When 
that dismall day approcheth, knowledge is given, and the 
men, women, and children assemble to the place appointed, 
and there passe the morning in drinking, and the Captiue 
(although he knoweth the dreadfull issue) danceth, drink- 
eth, and frolickes it with the best." 

They then lead him about the town by a rope : "Neither 
doth he, for all this, hang downe his head, as men here 
going to be hanged, but with incredible courage emblazon- 
eth his owne worthinesse." Like the North American 
I Indians, the victim boasts of his former exploits against 
his captors, with every species of taunt and provocation. 
He recounts those whom he has assisted to devour, and 
predicts a terrible retribution for his own destruction. 
"Then they bring him stones, & bid him reuenge his 
death. He hurleth them at those that stand about him, 
whereof there are some foure thousand, and hurteth 
diuers." 

When he is finally dispatched, his temporary wife 
" comes to the carkasse, and spends a little time and passion 
in mourning, but her Crocodiles teares are soone dried, 



616 



INDIAN RAGES OF AMERICA. 



and the humor fals into her teeth, which water for the 
first morsell." The whole process of dressing and devour- 
ing is minutely described. 

Bahia was settled about the year 1550, and ten years 
later Eio Janeiro was founded by the Portuguese governor, 
after the expulsion of the French, who had attempted to 
gain possession of that region of country. The coast set- 
tlements were steadily increasing in stability and power, 
but not without further contests with the native inhabit- 
ants. Of these, the most savage and dangerous were the 
Botocudos, dwelling in the interior, and between the rivers 
Doce and Pardo, from the fifteenth to the twentieth degree 
of south latitude. They have always been considered as 
being among the most repulsive and brutish of the hu- 
man race. They are supposed to be the same race as the 
Aymores, once the most dangerous enemies of the Portu- 
guese settlers. Their natural figure and the conformation of 
their features seem, from most accounts, to be by no means 
unpleasing. Dwelling in a forest country, their complex- 
ion is fairer than that of many of the South American 
Indians; it is of a light yellowish copper color, and suffi- 
ciently transparent for a blush to be perfectly obvious. 
The stories of their frightful and hideous appearance may 
all be referred to one most barbarous custom of mutilation 
and deformity, prevalent among them from the earliest 
times. This is the insertion of a large wooden plug or 
button called the "botoque" into a slit in the under hp: 
similar appendages are worn at the ears. 

This botoque is of such a size that its pressure generally 
causes the lower teeth eventually to fall out, and its pro- 
jection gives the most hideously uncouth and brutish 
appearance to the countenance. The slit is made and the 
plug is inserted during childhood, and as the opening- 
enlarges with time, the size of the botoque is increased 
until it has reached the full measure of deformitv and 



THE COUGAR. 
This is a most ferocious Animal of the cat kind. He is found in various parts of both 
North and South America, especially in Brazil, Paraguay, and Guiana. In the last-men- 
tioned country, the jaguar or South American tiger, is considered a less dangerous 
intruder upon the sett ements of the inhabitants. Notwithstanding the apparent intract- 
able nature of the e ugar, he can be tamed, it is said, and rendered a docile and affec- 
tionate companion. 



1 



INDIAN" TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 



617 



inconvenience. It interferes with mastication, and is every 
way disgusting and troublesome, but, like many scarcely 
less irrational and absurd customs among enlightened com- 
munities, it retains its hold to the present day. 

When the botoque is removed, which operation is as 
easily effected as the unbuttoning a coat, a disgusting aper- 
ture is disclosed, through which the loosened and distorted 
teeth distinctly appear. Purchas says of some of those 
wild tribes of the interior, generally called Tapuyas, that 
on their travels, "they do carry great store of tobacco with 
them ; and continually they have a leaf laid along their 
mouth, between the lip and the teeth ; and, as they go, 
the same runneth out of the hole that they have in their lips." 

The Botocudos are of an indolent disposition, but withal 
capable of enduring the greatest fatigue when occasion 
requires. Their muscular development is remarkably fine, 
and a life of exposure so hardens their skin that, without 
clothing, they can with perfect ease make their way through 
tangled brakes which would effectually impede the pro- 
gress of a European. Their huts, implements, and manner 
of life are not unlike those of the other Eastern nations of 
the tropical portion of South America, with the exception 
of their sleeping accommodations. The hammock is not 
in use among them, but rude couches of bark, &c, laid 
upon the ground, are all that they require. They have 
no boats or canoes, and it has been said of them that they 
were entirely ignorant of the art of swimming. This 
appears to be an error. 

The character of the Botocudos as cannibals, combined 
with the repulsive appearance caused by the botoque, has 
given them a worse reputation perhaps than they deserve. 
Many desirable traits are observable in their natural char- 
acter, and their intellectual capacity does not seem to be 
inferior to the generality of South American Indians. 
Their aversion to labour does not result in apathy, nor do 



618 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



we perceive in them that gloomy, morose, and reserved 
demeanor common among some of the Western Abori- 
gines. They are spoken of as "gay, facetious, and ready 
to converse." 

Some praise-worthy efforts have been made for the im- 
provement and civilization of this race, the effects of 
which have been very satisfactory. Mr. Pritchard quotes 
as follows, from the records of the "Society for the Pro- 
tection of the Aborigines:" 

"By the exertions of Ghiido Marliere, to whom com- 
munications were made on the part of this society, almost 
at the commencement, Guido Procrane, a Botocudo In- 
dian of great native talent, was introduced to the blessings 
of civilization and Christianity, and his new acquirements 
were directed to the amelioration of his countrymen. His 
exertions have been crowned with signal success, and four 
sections of the barbarous tribes have been brought under 
the influence of civilization, and taught to cultivate their 
soil, from which they have raised not only enough for 
their own support, but a surplus, which has been the means 
of rescuing even a portion of the white Brazilians from 
famine and starvation. Useful laws have been introduced 
among them, and Gruido Procrane, in the criminal code 
which he has established, has set an example which legisla- 
tors, the hereditary professors of Christianity, would do well 
to imitate, in the total exclusion of capital punishment." 



INDIAN TRIBES OF BRAZIL. 619 

CHAPTER II. 

SUCCESS OF THE PORTUGUESE AGAINST THE NATIVES THEIR CON- 
TESTS WITH SETTLERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES OF EUROPE 

ENGLISH COLONY AT PARAIBA EXPULSION OF GUARANI 

TRIBES FROM THEIR COUNTRY ON LA PLATA DIVI- 
SION OF BRAZILIAN NATIONS DAILY ROUTINE OF 

INDIAN LIFE IN THE FORESTS REFLECTIONS. 

To continue our narrative of Portuguese settlement and 
colonization, the efforts of the viceroy Mem da Sa, resulted 
in the reduction of the savage and turbulent Botocudos. 
In the desultory warfare of the time, the aid of such In- 
dian allies as were attached to the royal cause was of sig- 
nal advantage. 

The immense extent of fruitful sea-coast along the 
eastern shores of Brazil, invited adventurers from various 
European nations. The French, as we have seen, were 
repelled in their efforts to colonize the region of the La 
Plata, and the Portuguese were no less successful in expel- 
ing intruders from other quarters. An English settlement 
had been commenced at Paraiba, to the northward of Per- 
nambuco. The colonists at this place, says Southey, "con- 
nected themselves with the native women; and in another 
generation the Anglo-Tupi Mamalucos might have been 
found dangerous neighbors, if the governor of St. Sebas- 
tians, steadily pursuing the system of his court, had not, 
in the fifth year of their abode, attacked and exterminated 
them. They who escaped from the merciless war which 
the Portuguese waged against all interlopers, fled into the 
interior, and either they were eaten by the savages, as was 
believed, or lived and died among them, becoming sav- 
ages themselves." 

Long and wearisome details of struggles for empire 
in the New World between the Portuguese, Spanish, and 



» 



620 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



Dutch, occupy the history of Brazil until the establish- 
ment in that country of the royal family of Portugal, in 
1808. Few, except the Jesuits, seemed to have any care 
for the rights of the native population, or interest in their 
improvement. These missionaries — zealous and devoted 
in whatever cause, whether for good or ill, that they es- 
poused — drew upon themselves no trifling persecution by 
their efforts in behalf of the Indians. Upon a settlement 
of the limits of jurisdiction on the La Plata, in 1750, be- 
tween the Spanish and Portuguese governments, thirty 
thousand of the Guarani tribe were compelled to abandon 
their homes. These Indians had been objects of especial 
care to the J esuit missionaries, and in the resistance which 
they naturally made to so summary a removal, they in- 
volved their spiritual guides in difficulties. 

"The Indians," says Conder, "rose in all directions to 
oppose the mandate ; but the short though vigorous resist- 
ance which they made, only left them more than ever in 
the power of their enemies. Great numbers were slaugh- 
tered, and those who refused to submit were compelled to 
leave the country. * * In the year 1761, when Carlos 
HI. acceded to the throne of Spain, the treaty of limits 
was annulled; the Guaranies who had been so wantonly 
and cruelly expelled were instructed to return to their 
dilapidated town and wasted country, and the Jesuits, 
resuming their benignant administration, exerted them- 
selves to repair, as far as possible, the evils that had been 
done." 

The effects of the Catholic mission in Brazil are still 
visible among no small portion of the aboriginal inhabit- 
ants. Unfortunately in too many instances the religion 
which they now profess is but a graft upon their old 
superstitions. 

The Indians of Brazil are divided into a great number 
of tribes, differing more in language than in general ap- 



INDIAN TKIBES OF BRAZIL. 



621 



pearance and characteristics. The Tupis, who were the 
most extensively diffused over the coast country at the pe- 
riod of the first European discovery, are greatly reduced in 
numbers. The tribes of the far interior, where little or no 
intercourse is held with the whites, have changed but little 
from the habits and appearance of their ancestors. Dr. 
Yon Martius has enumerated no less than two hundred and 
fifty distinct tribes or nations within the limits of Brazil ; 
many of them, to be sure, consisting of but few families 
or individuals, and not sufficiently distinct one from an- 
other to render a classification useful or interesting. This 
traveller has given a very lively picture of the life and 
daily routine of these denizens of the forest. The follow- 
ing sketch is selected from his "Travels," and transcribed 
in an article upon the Brazilian Indians, to be found in 
that invaluable periodical, the "Penny Magazine:" 

"As soon as the first rays of the sun beam on the hut 
of the Indian, he awakes, rises immediately, and goes to 
the door, where he generally spends some time in rubbing 
and stretching his limbs. — Eeturning into the hut, he looks 
for the still live embers of the fire of the day before, or 
lights it afresh by means of two dry sticks, one of which 
he sets upon the other, twirling it like a mill till it kin- 
dles, and then he adds dry grass or straw. All the male 
inhabitants then take part in the business; some drag 
wood out of the forest; others heap up the fire between 
several large stones, and all of them seat themselves round 
it in a squatting attitude. Without looking at or speak- 
ing to each other, they often remain for hours together 
in this position, solely engaged in keeping in the fire, 
or roasting Spanish potatoes, bananas, ears of maize, 
&c, in the ashes for breakfast. A tame monkey, or some 
other of their numerous domestic animals with which they 
play, serves to amuse them. The first employment of the 
women, on leaving their hammocks, is to paint themselves 



622 



INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 



and their children, on which each goes to her domestic 
occupation, stripping the threads from the palm-trees, 
manufacturing nets, making earthen-ware, rubbing man- 
dioca, and pounding maize, from which they make a cool- 
ing beverage. Others go to their little plantations to fetch 
maize, mandioca, and beans; or into the forest to look 
for wild fruits and roots. When the men have finished 
their frugal breakfast, they prepare their bows, arrows, 
strings, &c." 

As the heat of the day increases, the Indian takes his 
bath, and then systematically sets about his day's hunt; 
"the tapir, monkies, pigs, armadilloes, pascas, and agou- 
tis, are his favorite dishes, but he readily eats deer, birds, 
turtles, and fish, and in case of need, contents himself with 
serpents, toads, and larvae of large insects roasted." 

The general tenor of this savage life, as well as the con- 
struction of dwellings, implements, boats, &c, is not unlike 
what has already been described relating to the Indians of 
Guiana. The same rude huts of palm, open, or closed 
upon the most exposed quarter by thatch or wicker-work, 
the hammocks, the simplest form of pottery and wooden 
vessels, and the almost invariable arms and weapons of 
the savage, suffice for their necessities, and for what they 
know of luxury and comfort. 

Some of the remote tribes are said to be still addicted 
to the old national propensity for cannibalism. "Infanti- 
cide is still more common ; and many tribes put the aged 
and infirm to death. Dr. Yon Martins states that the 
Guaicuru women never rear any children before their 
thirtieth year; the Guanas often bury their female chil- 
dren alive, and even the mothers expose their new-born 
infants ; and parental affection is a thing unknown on the 
father's side." 

Can we indulge any rational hope that these barbarous 
nations will ever be brought, as a distinct race, within the 



INDIAN TEIBES OF BEAZIL. 628 

pale of civilization ; or must the usual course of extinc- 
tion or amalgamation be the only means by which the 
immense and luxuriantly fertile regions which they inhabit 
shall eventually be improved for the support of the mil- 
lions that they are capable of sustaining? The Iroquois 
within the state of New York, and the Cherokee settle- 
ments west of the Mississippi, are almost the only prosper- 
ous and civilized districts inhabited by American Indians. 
It will be a most gratifying result if the next generation 
shall witness the original proprietors of this vast country 
taking, in the persons of their representatives, an equal 
place among its European occupants. A right state of 
feeling, upon the subjeet of what is due to the Indian, 
seems to be upon the ascendant in the United States, 
except in those districts where there is still a conflict of 
interest between the different races. 



THE PAMPAS INDIANS. 



THEIR HORSEMANSHIP — -THEIR MODE OF LIFE SIR FRANCIS HEAD'S 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE RACE FEMALE CAPTIVES AMONG THE IN- 
DIANS TRADING VISITS TO EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS CLASSI- 
FICATION OF TRIBES CHANGE IN THEIR CONDITION BY THE 

INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

The vast plains or pampas of Buenos Ayres are inhab- 
ited — where European settlements have not yet extended 
— by a wild and singular race of Indians. To them the 
horse is all that the rein-deer is to the Laplanders, consti- 
tuting their chief support, and almost their only enjoyment. 
Nearly destitute of clothing, and careless of the ordinary 

I conveniences and comforts of life, they are trained from 
infancy to scour the plains, often without saddles, upon 

j the wild horses who roam at will over the boundless ex- 
panse of meadow. The world has never produced such 
magnificent horsemen: "The Gauchos," says Sir Francis 
Head, "who themselves ride so beautifully, all declare that 
it is impossible to ride with an Indian ; for that the Indians' 
horses are better than theirs, and also that they have such 
a way of urging on their horses by their cries, and by a 
peculiar motion of their bodies, that even if they were to 
change horses, the Indians would beat them. The Gau- 
chos all seemed to dread very much the Indians' spears. 
They said that some of the Indians charged without either 
saddle or bridle, and that in some instances they were hang- 
ing almost under the bellies of their horses, and shrieking 
so that the horses were afraid to face them." 



THE PAMPAS INDIANS. 



625 



The whole lives of these singular people are spent upon 
norseback, a natural result of which is an incapacity for 
other species of exertion. Walking is intolerable to them : 
the fatigue and tediousness of such a mode of travelling 
over an unlimited level, would be disheartening to any, 
more particularly to those who have continually availed 
themselves of the services of the horse. 

Something of the ordinary system of Indian government 
exists among the numerous tribes, but they are all of unset- 
tled and roving habits, shifting their quarters continually 
in search of better pasturage, and subsisting chiefly upon 
mares' flesh. Wherever they betake themselves, they 
drive before them great herds of horses, and the skill 
with which they will catch, mount, and manage a fresh 
animal, when the one they have been riding is wearied, is 
unequalled. 

The author above quoted, whose characteristically graphic 
description of a gallop across the pampas has won so ex- 
tensive a reputation, observes of the Indians: "The occu- 
pation of their lives is war, which they consider is their 
noble and most natural employment; and they declare 
that the proudest attitude of the human figure is when, 
bending over his horse, man is riding at his enemy. The 
principal weapon which they use is a spear eighteen feet 
long; they manage it with great dexterity, and are able 
to give it a tremulous motion which has often shaken the 
sword from the hand of their European adversaries." In 
addition to the spear, they make use, both in war and 
hunting, of a most effective instrument called the ballos. 
This is a species of slung-shot, consisting of a stout leathern 
thong with a ball of lead attached to either end. A terri- 
ble blow can be struck with this weapon, and, as a missile, 
the Indians use it with great dexterity and effect within a 
moderate range. The lasso, or long noose attached to the 
saddle, is also an effective implement. 
40 



626 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

Between them and the Gauchos, a scarcely less wild race 
of cavaliers, principally of Spanish descent, the most deadly 
hostility constantly prevails. In the exposed districts, rude 
fortifications are erected for the protection of the white 
inhabitants against Indian incursions. The principal de- 
fence of these fortresses is said to be a narrow ditch, over 
which the Indian horses, accustomed to the unobstructed 
level of the prairie, refuse to leap, and nothing could in- 
duce their rider to attempt any thing upon foot. Upon 
occasion of a successful assault, the savages show little 
mercy. All the unfortunate whites are murdered, except 
such of the young women as appear sufhciently attractive 
to make desirable wives. "Whether the poor girls can 
ride or not," says Head, "they are instantly placed upon 
horses, and when the hasty plunder of the hut is con- 
cluded, they are driven away from its smoking ruins and 
from the horrid scene which surrounds it." 

"At a pace which in Europe is unknown, they gallop 
over the trackless regions before them, fed upon mares' 
flesh, sleeping on the ground, until they arrive in the In- 
dian's territory, when they have instantly to adopt the 
wild life of their captors. 

"I was informed by a very intelligent French officer, who 
was of high rank in the Peruvian army, that on friendly 
terms, he had once passed through part of the territory 
of these Pampas Indians, in order to attack a tribe who 
were at war with them, and that he had met several of the 
young women who had been thus carried off by the Indians. 

" He told me that he had offered to obtain permission for 
them to return to their country, and that he had, in addi- 
tion, offered them large sums of money if they would, in 
the mean while, act as interpreters ; but they all replied 
that no inducement in the world should ever make them 
leave their husbands, or their children, and that they were 
quite delighted with the life they led." 



THE PAMPAS INDIANS. 



627 



There is certainly something. strangely fascinating in the 
idea of a wild life, unfettered by the artificial restraints 
of society, and the constant call for exertion and care inci- 
dent to civilized existence. We see that in a majority of 
cases the inhabitants of even the most desolate and inhos- 
pitable regions of the earth, after experiencing the com- 
forts of civilization, are still glad to return to the scenes 
and habits to which they were early inured. It is easier 
for the educated and enlightened European to discard the 
advantages which he has inherited, and to adopt the hab- 
its and life of the savage, especially in a genial and spon- 
I taneously productive clime, than for the latter to give up 
his wild freedom for the responsibilities and cares of 
civilization. 

In times of peace the free rovers of the South Ameri- 
can pampas make occasional visits to the European towns 
and settlements for the purpose of trade. They bring in 
such few articles of peltry, &c, as they deal in, to barter 
for sugar, "knives, spurs, and liquor." Delivering up all 
their dangerous weapons to their chief, they devote them- 
selves, at first, to a regular drinking-bout, after recovering 
from which, they offer their goods to the trades-people. 
They will have nothing to do with money, or the ordina- 
ry rules of weight and measure, but designate, by some 
mark of their own, the quantity of the commodity they 
require in exchange for their own stock. 

The Pampas Indians are classified as belonging to the 
great Patagonian or Pampean groupe, which is divided 
into the following nations : the Tehuelche, Puelche, Char- 
rua, Mbocobi or Toba, Mataguayo, Abipones, and Lengua. 
That portion of which we have been speaking in this 
chapter, consists principally of the Puelche : their ancestors \ 
were found further north, bordering upon the tribes of Para- 
I guay, and upon the first arrival and settlement of Europeans 
i upon the La Plata, proved most formidable enemies. 



628 INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 

They also inhabited the eastern mountainous regions of 
Chili, where they were allied to and classed with the no- 
ble and warlike Araucanians. Molina, in his account of 
that race, says of the Puelches: "These, although they 
conform to the general customs of the nation, always dis- 
cover a greater rudeness and savageness of manners, 
Their name signifies Eastern-men. * * The Araucanians 
hold these mountaineers in high estimation for the im- 
portant services which they occasionally render them, and 
for the fidelity which they have always observed in their 
alliance with them." 

The first town built upon the site of the present city of 
Buenos Ayres, in 1534, was destroyed by the Indians ; and 
their bold attacks repelled the Spanish adventurers in this 
quarter until 1580. Even then they renewed their hos- 
tilities, but the fall of their chief cacique in battle, and 
the more efficient fortification of the new town, baffled 
them and caused their entire defeat. 

In these early times their habits were of course different 
from what we may now notice, as horses and cattle were 
not introduced until the arrival of Europeans. The emu 
or American ostrich, still an inhabitant of the Pampas,, 
the deer, sloth, and small game, supplied them with food. 
The unprecedented natural increase of cattle and horses, 
turned free to roam over the rich grassy savannahs, sup- 
plied them with entirely new resources. 

Those Indians of Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, and other 
southern provinces, who live in the midst of the white 
settlements, are mostly Christian converts, at least in name 
and the observance of religious formulas. 

The extent to which the different nations of Europe, 
Africa, and America have become mixed in most of the 
South American provinces, renders any thing like accurate 
enumeration of the amount of the present Indian popula- 
tion difficult, if not impossible. 



THE PATAGON IANS. 



EARLY EXAGGERATED REPORTS CONCERNING THEM RACE TO WHICH 

THEY BELONG NATURE OF THE COUNTRY—TERRA DEL FUEGO 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE INHABIT- 
ANTS CAPTAIN FITZROY'S NARRATIVE PHYSICAL CONFOR- 
MATION OF THE NATIVES SCANTINESS OF THEIR CLOTHING 

THEIR HUTS, RESOURCES FOR FOOD, ETC. FUEGIANS 

CARRIED TO ENGLAND BY FITZROY ATTEMPT AT THE 

INTRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURE ON THE ISLAND— 
PECHERAIS DESCRIBED IN WILKES' NARRATIVE 
OF THE U. STATES' EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 

Most extravagant reports were circulated, in early times, 
of the gigantic size of the natives of the southern extremity 
of the American continent. These were not wholly fabu- 
lous, but merely exaggerations, as from recent travellers 
we have accurate descriptions of various tribes, among 
which the average height of the men greatly exceeds that 
of mankind in general. The Tehuelches in particular, 
although less warlike and dangerous than many other 
nations, are noted for their gigantic proportions. They 
are said to be more than six feet in height, upon an aver- 
age, and some of them considerably exceed that measure : 
They are muscular, and athletic in proportion. 

The Patagonian tribes are included under the same 
general classification with the Puelches of the pampas, and 
the numerous nations further north, spread over the vast 
and indeterminate region denominated Chaco, between 
Paraguay and Chili. Over the extensive plains, and table- 
land between the Andes and the eastern sea-board, the 



630 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



wild tribes of Patagonia wander in undisturbed freedom. 
Their manner of life is similar to that of the Pampas In- 
dians of Southern Buenos Ayres, as wild horses and cattle 
have spread over the northern parts of their country in 
almost equal abundance. The same fierce, untameable 
spirit, and the same carelessness of the comforts of life, 
with ability to endure the extremes of exposure and fa- 
tigue, characterize all these races of centaurs. Even in 
the colder regions of the extreme south, little in the way 
of clothing is worn, and the naked body of the savage is 
exposed to snows and storms, against which the covering 
of the European would afford incomplete protection. 

" These men," says Purchas, speaking of those near the 
straits of Magellan, "both Giants and others, went either 
wholly naked, or so clothed, as they seemed not to dread 
the cold, which is yet there so violent, that besides the 
mountaine-toppes, alway couered with Snow, their very 
Summers, in the middest thereof, freeth them not from ice." 

A great portion of Patagonia is sterile and barren, desti- 
tute of timber, and covered only with a kind of coarse grass, 
or with thorny shrubs. The country rises in a series of 
terraces from the low eastern sea-coast to the range of the 
Andes. The northern districts are in many parts fertile 
and heavily timbered. 

Crossing the Straits of Magellan, we find one of the most 
miserable and desolate countries on the globe. Terra del 
Fuego, the land of fire, so called because of the numerous 
fires seen upon its coast by the early navigators, is a cold 
and barren island. The surface of the country is either 
rocky and mountainous, or of such a cold and miry soil 
as to obstruct travel and improvement. The forests are 
rendered nearly impassable by under-growth. The inhab- 
itants are partly, as .would appear, of the same race with 
the Patagonians, but as a body they are generally classed 
with the Andian Groupe, and considered to have some 



THE PATAGONIANS. 631 

affinity to the Araucanians. "One description," says 
Pritcharcl, "is applicable to both nations. Their heads 
are proportionably large ; their faces round, with projecting 
cheek-bones, large mouths, thick lips, short flattened noses, 
with wide nostrils ; their eyes are horizontally placed, and 
not inclined ; otherwise their countenance would approxi- 
mate greatly to that of the nomadic Tartars : they have 
little beard ; their foreheads are narrow, and falling back ; 
their chins broad and short." 

Among the most interesting accounts of these Indians 
is that given by Captain Fitzroy, in the "Narrative of the 
Voyages of the Adventure and the Beagle." Lieutenant 
Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States' explor- 
ing expedition, has also very graphically described the ap- 
pearance and peculiarities of the people and country. 

Fitzroy estimates the whole population at about three 
thousand adults. They are divided into five different tribes 
or nations, viz : the Yacanas, Tekeenicas, Alikhoolip, 
Pecherais, and Huemuls. The name of Pecherais was be- 
stowed by Bougainville (as descriptive of their mode of sub- 
sistence) upon those coast Indians who have been considered 
as belonging to the Araucanian family. The Yacanas 
appear to be the same with the neighboring Patagonians. 

The separate tribes differ considerably in their physical 
development, but the generality of these islanders present 
a wretched and miserable aspect of deformity. Their 
withered and emaciated limbs are in strong contrast to the 
breadth of the chest and the size of the abdomen, and 
the squatting position always assumed by them when at 
rest, causes the skin of the knee-joint to become stretched 
and loose: when standing, it hangs in unsightly folds. 
Their eyes are almost universally inflamed and sore from 
the effects of the smoke in their wigwams. There are few 
races upon the globe who bear so strongly the marks of 
want and destitution. 



632 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



Unlike the natives of the cold climes of Northern Amer- 
ica, the Fuegians totally neglect the precaution of fortify- 
ing themselves against the severities of winter by warm 
and comfortable clothing. The majority of the men go 
almost entirely naked. A single skin of the gnanaco (a 
southern quadruped of the genus of the llama), or of the 
different species of seal, thrown over the shoulders, and, 
in a few instances, reduced to the semblance of a garment, 
by a girdle, is all that is seen in the way of clothing. 
Some slight fillets are worn about the head, rather from 
a fancy for ornament than as a covering. The females 
usually wear an entire guanaco skin, in the loose fold of 
which, above the belt, they carry their infants: a more 
convenient method than that adopted in some northern 
climes, of stowing the child in the huge boot. 

The huts which they inhabit are built, much after the 
fashion of the ordinary Indian wigwam, of poles bent to- 
gether at the top, or of stiff stakes placed in the form of 
a cone. These rude dwellings are neither tight nor com- 
fortable : they are generally intended merely for temporary 
domiciles, as the necessity for constant migration in search 
of the products of the sea and coast, renders any perma- 
nent settlement impracticable. The arts of agriculture are 
entirely unknown or disregarded. Sundry attempts have 
been made to introduce the cultivation of such vegetables 
as the soil is adapted to producing, but the ignorance and 
barbarity of the inhabitants prevented their appreciation 
of the advantages which would result from the operation, 
and the experiments utterly failed. 

Most of the Fuegians are supplied with roughly-con- 
structed bark canoes. In the centre of these a fire is 
always kept burning upon a bed of sand or clay. Fire is 
obtained by striking sparks from the iron pyrites upon a 
tinder prepared from some dried fungus, or moss, which 
materials are always kept at hand; but the difficulty of 



THE PATAGONIANS. 



633 



obtaining a flame by these means is the probable reason 
for their care in preserving the embers in their canoes. 

As we have mentioned, they raise no vegetable food, 
and the natural products of the country are exceedingly 
scanty. All that the inhabitants can procure to vary their 
animal diet of fish, seals, shell-fish, &c, consists of "a few 
berries, as the cranberry and the berry of the arbutus; 
also a fungus like the oak-apple, which grows on the birch- 
tree. With the exception of these spontaneous produc- 
tions, and dead whales thrown occasionally upon the 
coast, the rest of their food must be obtained by their own 
perseverance, activity, and sagacity." 

A race of dogs is domesticated among the Fuegians, by 
the assistance of which the labor and difficulty of hunting 
the guanaco, otter, &c, is materially alleviated. The 
weapons used in war or for the chase are bows and arrows, 
short bone-headed lances, clubs, and slings. The Fuegians 
are adepts in the use of the last-mentioned implement, and 
hurl stones with great force and accuracy. 

They have no means of preserving a store of provision 
in times of plenty, and are consequently liable to suffer 
greatly from famine when storms or other causes cut them 
off from the usual resources of the sea. They will some- 
times bury a quantity of whale's blubber in the sand, and 
devour it in an offensive condition, when pressed by hun- 
ger. "In Captain Fitzroy's narrative there is an account 
of a party of the natives who were in a famishing state, 
on which some of the tribe departed, observing that they 
would return in four 'sleeps' with a supply of food. On 
the fifth day they arrived in a state of great exhaustion, 
each man carrying two or three pieces of whale-blubber, 
in a half-putrid state, and which appeared as if it had been 
buried in the sand. A hole was made in each piece through 
which the man carrying it inserted his head and neck." 
Eeport says that, as a last resource, when other food can- 



634 



INDIAN EACES OF AMEBIC A. 



not be obtained, the Fuegians Mil and feed upon the older 
and more unserviceable members of their own community. 

The benevolent Fitzroy, deeply interested in the welfare 
of these unfortunate islanders, made an attempt, in 1830, 
to effect some improvement in their condition. He took 
four of them with him to England, one of whom, died of 
the small-pox shortly after landing. The others were 
maintained and instructed, at the captain's own expense, 
until October of the following year, when he took them 
on board the Beagle to return to their homes, and use their 
influence in introducing the arts and comforts of civiliza- 
tion. One Matthews accompanied them from England, 
with the purpose of assisting their efforts among their 
countrymen. 

Arriving at Terra del Fuego, wigwams were built, and 
a garden was laid out and planted with various European 
esculents. Curiosity and astonishment were the first feel- 
ings excited by these operations ; but after the departure 
of the captain, the rude natives, unable to comprehend the 
motives for the experiment, and incapable of appreciating 
the advantages in store for them, destroyed the little plant- 
ation. Jemmy Button, the one most particularly described 
of those carried to England, when seen, a few years after- j 
wards, by Captain Fitzroy, had nearly relapsed into his j 
original state of squalid barbarity. Matthews left the 
island upon the first failure of the attempt at agriculture. 

Could there be found men of sufficient self-devotion to 
be willing to take up their abode in such a dreary country, 
there seems to be reason to believe that the Fuegians might 
be reclaimed. They do not lack sagacity or intelligence, 
and their memories are remarkably retentive. It is said 
that "they could repeat with perfect correctness each word 
in any sentence addressed to them, and they remembered 
such words for some time." 

The Fuegians described by Commander Wilkes, as seen 



THE PATAGONIANS. 



685 



at Orange Harbor, were of the Pecherais tribe. His de- 
scriptions correspond with those of former voyagers, but 
their interest is greatly heightened by the illustrations 
which accompany his valuable narrative. "They are," 
he says, " an ill-shapen and ugly race. They have little 
or no idea of the relative value of articles, even of those 
that one would suppose were of the utmost use to them, 
such as iron and glass-ware. A glass bottle broken into 
pieces is valued as much as a knife. Eed flannel torn into 
stripes, pleases them more than in the piece ; they wound 
it round their heads, as a kind of turban, and it was amus- 
ing to see their satisfaction at this small acquisition." 

The Indians of this party wore no other clothing than 
a small piece of seal-skin appended to the shoulder and 
reaching to the waist. This was shifted from side to side 
according to the direction of the .wind, serving rather as 
a shelter than a covering. Their bark canoes were of 
exceedingly slight construction, "sewed with shreds of 
whale-bone, seal-skin, and twigs." Their navigation was 
mostly confined to the limits of the kelp or sea-weed, 
where the water was calm, and they could assist the oper- 
ation of their small and inefficient paddles by laying hold 
of the marine plants. 

Those natives who were taken on board the vessels, 
exhibited little or no astonishment at what they saw around 
them. This did not proceed from surliness or apathy, for 
they were vivacious and cheerful, and apparently happy 
and contented. A most uncontrollable propensity to mim- 
icry prevented the establishment of any kind of commu- 
nication, as, instead of replying to signs and gestures, they 
would invariably imitate them with ludicrous exactness. 
"Their imitations of sounds were truly astonishing. One 
of them ascended and descended the octave perfectly, fol- 
lowing the sounds of the violin correctly. It was then 
found he could sound the common chords, and follow 



636 INDIAN EACES OF AMERICA. 

through the semitone scale, with scarcely an error. * * * 
Although they have been heard to shout quite loud, yet 
they cannot endure a noise. When ! the drum beat, or a 
gun was fired, they invariably stopped their ears. They 
always speak to each other in a whisper. Their cautious 
manner and movements prove them to be a timid race. 
The men are exceedingly jealous of their women, and 
will not allow any one, if they can help it, to enter their 
huts, particularly boys." 

When, after some hesitation, admittance was gained to 
the huts on shore: "The men creeping in first, squatted 
themselves directly in front of the women, all holding out 
the small piece of seal-skin, to allow the heat to reach their 
bodies. The women were squatted three deep behind the 
men, the oldest in front, nestling the infants." Most writers 
speak of the condition of the Fuegian women, particularly 
of this race of Pecherais, as being subjected to the most 
severe and toilsome drudgery. "In a word," says one, 
"the Pecherais women are, perhaps, of all the savage 
women of America, those whose lot is the hardest." Those, 
however, seen at Orange Harbor had small and well-shaped 
hands and feet, "and, from appearance, they are not accus- 
tomed to do any hard work." 

Some vague superstitious belief in dreams, omens, &c, 
with the idea of an evil spirit in the embodiment of "a 
great black man, supposed to be always wandering about 
the woods and mountains, who is certain of knowing 
every word and every action, who cannot be escaped, and 
who influences the weather according to men's conduct," 
is all that is observable of religious conceptions on the 
part of the natives. They have, connected with each 
tribe or casual groupe, a man whom their fancy invests 
with the power of sorcerer and physician; occupying 
precisely the same position with that of the "powows" of 
North America. 



IMPORTANT ERAS AND DATES 



OF 

INTERESTING EVENTS IN INDIAN HISTORY. 



A. D. 

544. The Toltecs, according to ancient traditions, commenced their 
migration from the north to the vale of Anahuac, or Mexico. 

648. The Toltecs arrived at Tollantzinco, in Anahuac. 

982. Eirek the Red discovered Greenland, and planted a colony there. 

985. Biarni Heriulfson discovered the American coast. 
1008. Thorfinn Karlsefni planted a colony in New England. 
1051. The Toltecs destroyed by a pestilence. 

1070. The barbarous nation of the Chichimecas succeeded the Toltecs. 
1170. The Nahuatlacas, or Seven Tribes, among whom were the Aztecs, 

commenced their migration from the north. 
1325. The Aztecs founded the city of ancient Mexico. 
1492. Oct. 12. Columbus landed at Guanahani, or Cat Island, on his first 

voyage of discovery. 
1498. Columbus first touched the shores of South America, and held 

intercourse with the Arawaks. 

1500. Jan. 26. Vicente Pinzon landed near Cape St. Augustine, at the 

eastern extremity of South America, and took formal possession. 

1501. Portuguese discoverers, under Vespucius, landed at Brazil. 
1509. Juan de Solis slain by the natives at the estuary of La Plata. 

1518. L. Velasquez de Ay lion landed on the Carolina coast in search of 

Indian slaves and gold. 

1519. Nov. 8. Cortez entered the city of Mexico, and held his first inter- 

view with the Emperor Montezuma. 

1520. Night of July 1. The "Noche Triste," on which the Spaniards 

made their disastrous retreat from the city of Mexico. 

1521. Towards the close of May, the Spaniards, with reinforcements, 

having again advanced upon the Aztec capital, laid close siege to it. 
" Aug. 13. Gautimozin, successor to Montezuma, was taken prisoner, 

and the city fell into the power of the Spanish invaders. 
1524. Nov. Francisco Pizarro sailed on his first expedition to Peru. 
1528. Expedition of Pamphilo de Narvaez to Florida, with a party of 

four hundred men. About forty horses were landed — the first 

ever seen by the natives. 

1531. Pizarro landed and established himself in Peru. 

1532. Nov. 15. Entry of Pizarro into Caxamalca, and first interview of 

his officers with the Inca, Atahuallpa. 
" Nov. 16. Horrible massacre of the Indians, and seizure of the Inca 

1533. Aug. 29. Atahuallpa infamously put to death, by the garrotte. 
" Nov. Entry of the Spaniards into Cuzco, the capital of Peru. 

1535. Almagro's expedition into Chili. 



638 



INDIAN RACES OF AMERICA. 



A. D. 

1538. May. Fernando de Soto landed at Tampa Bay. The bloody scenes 

attendant upon the conquest of Florida ensued. 
1540. Pedro Valdivia's invasion of Chili. 

1552. His progress through Arauco. 

1553. Dec. 3. Great battle between the Spaniards and the Araucanians, 

in which the latter, under Caupolican, gained a signal victory. 

1555. The Spanish town of Conception attacked and destroyed by the 

Araucanians, under Lautaro. 

1556. Lautaro surprised and slain by Villagran. 

1558. Expedition of Garcia de Mendoza to the archipelago of Chiloe. 
1562. French refugees settled peaceably among the Indians on the St. 
. John's river, Florida. 

1584. Amidas and Barlow opened a friendly intercourse with the Vir- 

ginia Indians. 

1585. Those belonging to Sir Richard Grenville's expedition to Virginia 

commenced outrages and hostilities, which resulted in the de- 
struction of several successive colonies. 
1595. Raleigh entered the Orinoco, and held intercourse with the natives. 
1598. Nov. Great rising of the Chilians, under the Toqui Paillamachu: 

expulsion of the Spaniards from the Araucanian territory. 
1606. Bartholomew GosnolFs expedition to Virginia; with which the 

celebrated Captain John Smith was connected. 
1608. June. Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake, his first meeting 

with the Massawomekes, or Iroquois. 
" In the autumn of this year, Powhatan was formally crowned — the 

regalia having been sent over from England. 
" Dec. Powhatan's conspiracy against Smith and his party, and their 

preservation by Pocahontas. 

1613. Pocahontas seized and detained by Captain Argall. 
" April. Marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe. 

1614. Thomas Hunt landed at Monhegan, and enticed twenty-four In- 

dians on board his vessel, whom he carried to Europe as slaves. 

1617. Pocahontas died, at Gravesend, in England. 

1618. Powhatan died. 

1620. Nov. 9. The May-Flower arrived. 

" Dec. 8. First skirmish of the N. England settlers with the natives. 
" Dec. 22. Their landing at Plymouth. 

1621. March 22. Treaty between the Plymouth settlers and Massasoit. 

1622. March 22. Great massacre of the Virginia settlers, by the Indians, 

set on by Opechancanough : three hundred and forty-seven killed. 
1625. Great battle with the Caribs on the island of St. Christopher; two 

thousand of that nation destroyed. 
1628. Fire-arms extensively diffused among the Indians of New England, 

by Dutch traders and one Thomas Morton. 
1637. The Pequod War broke out: siege of the English garrison at 

Saybrook. 

" June 5. A little before day the Pequod fort attacked and destroy- 
ed ; barbarous destruction of women and children. 
1640. Peace concluded between the Spanish colonists under Francisco 
Zuniga, and the Araucanians. 



IMPORTANT ERAS AND DATES. 



639 



A. D. 

1643. Miantonimo put to death by Uncas. 

1644. Second Virginia massacre, planned "by Opechancanough. 
1653. The nation of the Eries exterminated by the Iroquois. 
1662. Philip, or Metacomet, succeeded his brother Alexander. 

1665. Peace again concluded between the Spaniards and Araucanians. 
1675. June 24. O. S. First blood shed in King Philip's war. 

1675. Dec. 19. Destruction of The Narragansett fort. 

1676. Aug. 12. Philip killed by an Indian of Captain Church's party. 
u Aug. Capture of Annawon, by Church, and end of the war. 

1682. Dec. First treaty of William Perm with the Delawares. 
1688. Invasion of Canada, and attack on Montreal by the Iroquois. 

1710. First deputation of Iroquois chiefs to the court of Queen Anne. 

1711. Sept, 22. Massacre of whites in North Carolina, by the Tuscaroras. 
1713. March 26. The Tuscarora fort on Tar river destroyed by Colonel 

Moore — eight hundred prisoners taken. 
" Union of the main body of the Tuscaroras with the_ Iroquois. 
1729. Nov. 30. Massacre of the French inhabitants of Natchez, by the 
Natchez Indians, 

1738, Nearly one-half of the Cherokees destroyed by the small-pox. 

1749. Singular intrigues of the Reverend Thomas Bosom worth and his 

wife, the half-breed, Mary Musgrove, among the Creeks. 

1750. Settlement of difficulties between Spanish and Portuguese colonies 

on the river La Plata — thirty thousand Guarani Indians expatriated. 
1755. July 9. Disastrous defeat of General Braddock, by the French and 
Indians, a few miles from Fort Duquesne. 

1759. Winter. War between the Cherokees and the British colonists. 

1760. Spring. Colonel Montgomery's expedition against the Cherokees: 

destruction of all then towns east of the Blue Ridge. 

1761. Spring. Colonel Grant's campaign against the Cherokees: their 

reduction, and the ravage of their towns in the interior. 
1763. May. Siege of Detroit commenced by Pontiac. 
" July 30. Battle of Bloody Bridge, and terrible destruction of Eng- 
lish troops under Captain Dalyell, by Pontiac and his warriors. 

1773, Peace concluded between the Spaniards and the Araucanians. 

1774. In the spring of this year commenced the bloody war in Western 

Virginia and Pennsylvania, known as Cresap's war. 
" Oct, 10. Great battle at Point Pleasant — mouth of the Kanawha, 

1777. July. Battle of Oriskany; General Herkimer mortally wounded. 

1778. July 4. Destruction of the settlements in the valley of Wyoming. 
" Nov. Massacre at Cherry- Valley. 

1779. Sept. General Sullivan's campaign against the Iroquois: destruc- 

tion of all their towns, crops, fruit-trees, and stores. 
17S0. Aug. Ravage of a portion of the Mohawk valley, by Brant. 
1781. Great insurrection of the Peruvian Indians, under Tupac Amaru. 

" June. Grand council of war held by the western tribes. 

" Defeat of Colonels Todd, Trigg, and party, near the Blue Licks. 

" ^ Indian towns of Chilicothe,Pecaway,&c., destroyed by Gen. Clarke. 

1785. Brant visited England, and was received with flattering attention. 

1786. Dec. Grand Council of Western Indians, at Huron Village. 
1791. Autumn. Unsuccessful expedition of General Harmar. 



720 INCLUDING ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A. D. 

1791. Nov. 4. Disastrous defeat of Genpnl St rin^ «. t j. 

under Little Tmlle, near the Mam?' * °^ ty the In<W ' 
1794. Aug 20 Battle of Presque Isle, in whieh the Western Indians 

1804 VM ? * J fu Cke *' W T Si § nall y defeated »y GeneTwayne 
lS04.Elskwatawa, the prophet, brother of TeeLseh, enS in 

, «„a a mt r^ es amon S the tribes of the west. ' g g d m 

1809 - KrCrnlSr Wateh ' ° btaiDed * General 

181 °- Wsssaansr* for the ™ of «^ 

1811. Night of Nov. 6. Battle at the Prophet's Town, in whieh Elskwa 

1813. Nov 29. Battle of Autosse; destruction of two hundred Indians 
i m 7 ^^Floyd's forces, aided by Indian allies led by M'Intosh 

1814. March 27 Battle of Horse-shoe Bend, in the Wl&S*S£ 
1823 0t + her /°^ th f n Ind ^ defeated by General Jackson 
1823 Sept. 18. Treaty of Moultrie Creek, by which the Seminoles were 

-to remove within certain limits. 

1829 ' D rh;,l 0 i; A f PaSS f - b /. th ? Ge0r ^ ia le g isla ture, annulling the 

1830 jSv TW W + % aD • ■ m ? 1 ^ g Upon the ri ^ hts of that people. 
1830. July. Treaty at Prairie du Chien, with the Sacs and Foxes, Iowas, 

1831 W Pn ' concerning cession of lands east of the Mississippi. 

183^^%^^ G 5T ex P e ? lt10 "' t0 ? om P el ^moval of the Sacs. 
1832. May 8. Treaty of Payne's Landing, by the provisions of which 
k the Seminoles were to remove west of the Mississippi. 

« Aul I T? e ^r 0f ^ J ? r mi ? an and his forces > h y Black-Hawk. 
« A l g - 2- B lack-Hawk's forces defeated by General Atkinson, 
ifm Ont n?K ^ uri : e " de /o f Black-Hawk and the Prophet. 

1 835. Oct. The Florida War commenced. 

Dec. Treaty of New Echota with the Cherokees, (known as 

i 8 ; s .& d i^ 

1836. Spring General Scott's campaign in Florida. 

i»d7. Jan. 22. General Jessup moved southward towards the everglades 
in pursuit of the Seminoles. to 

1838. Oct. 3. Black-Hawk died, at the age of 73 

1842. The Florida war at an end: several hundred Indians transported 
west ot the Mississippi. r 



THE END. 



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